Higher Health Risks for Low Income Black and Hispanic Graduates

by Kathy Grear 02/19/2018

The recent study theorizes that the reason for such disparity in health risks is the amount of stress and hardship they had to overcome to achieve educational success within a discriminatory society.

The study claims that although African-Americans and Hispanic Americans seem resilient psychologically, it doesn’t mean that the stressors do not affect their physical health negatively.

The higher health risks study has found that disadvantaged minorities who graduated college in the United States are more likely to develop health risks compared to those graduates who are white and even to other minorities that came from advantaged backgrounds.

Higher Health Risks

The study conducted by the team lead by UNC sociology professor Kathleen Mullan Harris and UNC researcher Lauren Gaydosh entitled “College completion predicts lower depression but higher metabolic syndrome among disadvantaged minorities in young adulthood,” discovered that completing college does not necessarily result in a better well-being for all. Though all races benefit from it mentally, that is not the case when it comes to physical health, according to the study.

The primary findings show that Black Americans and Hispanic Americans degree holders from disadvantaged background have a higher tendency of acquiring metabolic syndromes such as diabetes, heart attack, and stroke compared to graduates who are white and minorities that came from advantaged backgrounds. At the same time, those similarly disadvantaged who did not finish college don’t have the same health risks.

To be able to alleviate the risks, Harris suggests that “policies and programs are needed to help African-American and Hispanic young adults avoid the stresses and social isolation they experience when they move up the social ladder and complete a college degree.”