Dataset Information

Measuring Structural Racism and Its Association with Racial Disparities in Firearm Homicide.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Structural racism is strongly related to racial health disparities. However, surprisingly few studies have developed empirical tools to measure structural racism. In addition, the few measures that have been employed have only considered structural racism at the neighborhood level. To expand upon previous studies, this paper uses a novel measure to measure structural racism at the county level for the non-Hispanic Black population.

Methods

We used confirmatory factor analysis to create a model to measure the latent construct of structural racism for 1181 US counties. The model included five indicators across five dimensions: racial segregation, incarceration, educational attainment, employment, and economic status/wealth. Structural equation modeling and factor analysis were used to generate factor scores that weighted the indicators in order to produce the best model fit. The resulting factor scores represented the level of structural racism in each county. We demonstrated the utility of this measure by demonstrating its strong correlation with Black-White disparities in firearm homicide rates.

Results

Our calculations revealed striking geographic differences across counties in the magnitude of structural racism, with the highest values generally being observed in the Midwest and Northeast. Structural racism was significantly associated with higher Black firearm homicide rates, lower White homicide rates, and a higher Black-White racial disparity in firearm homicide.

Conclusions

These new measures can be utilized by researchers to relate structural racism to racial health disparities at the county level.

SUBMITTER: Siegel M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9744051 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Measuring Structural Racism and Its Association with Racial Disparities in Firearm Homicide.

Siegel Michael M Rieders Madeline M Rieders Hannah H Moumneh Jinan J Asfour Julia J Oh Jinseo J Oh Seungjin S

Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 20221212 6

<h4>Introduction</h4>Structural racism is strongly related to racial health disparities. However, surprisingly few studies have developed empirical tools to measure structural racism. In addition, the few measures that have been employed have only considered structural racism at the neighborhood level. To expand upon previous studies, this paper uses a novel measure to measure structural racism at the county level for the non-Hispanic Black population.<h4>Methods</h4>We used confirmatory factor ...[more]

PMID: 36508134

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Project description:Firearm homicides disproportionately affect Black communities. Redlining - discriminatory lending practices of the early 20th century - are associated with current increased rates of firearm violence. Poverty and concentrated disadvantage are also associated with firearm violence. The interaction of these factors with racist redlining housing practices remains unclear. We used generalized structural equation modeling to characterize the mediators through which redlining practices of the 1930s led to present rates of firearm violence in Boston using a negative binomial model. Principle component analysis was used to create four distinct mediating variables representing census block socioeconomic and built environment information, while reducing dimensionality. We calculated the direct effect between harmful (Red and Yellow) vs beneficial (Green) designations and firearm incident rate, indirect effect between redlining designation and firearm incident rate through each mediating variable, and the total effect. The percentage mediation of each mediator was subsequently calculated. Red and Yellow areas of Boston were associated with an 11•1 (95% CI 5•5,22•4) and 11•4 (5•7,22•8) increased incident rate of shooting when compared to Green. In the pathway between Red designation and firearm incident rate, poverty and poor educational attainment mediated 20% of the interaction, share of rented housing mediated 8%, and Black share of the population 3%. In the pathway between Yellow designation and firearm incident rate, poverty and poor educational attainment mediated 16% of the association, and Black share of the population mediated 13%. Redlining practices of the 1930s potentially contribute to increased rates of firearm violence through changes to neighborhood environments, namely through preclusion from homeownership, poverty, poor educational attainment, and concentration (i.e. segregation) of Black communities. These downstream mediating factors serve as points for policy interventions to address urban firearm violence. Michael Poulson and Miriam Neufeld were supported by T32 Training Grants (HP10028, GM86308).

Dataset Information

Measuring Structural Racism and Its Association with Racial Disparities in Firearm Homicide.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Measuring Structural Racism and Its Association with Racial Disparities in Firearm Homicide.

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