Moore KR, Williams DR, Baird DD. Disparities by Skin Color Among Young African-American Women.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2020;
8:1002-1011. [PMID:
32888171 DOI:
10.1007/s40615-020-00856-x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Light-skin disadvantage (hypothesized to result from resentment by darker-skinned individuals) has been described in majority African-American populations but is less studied than dark-skin disadvantage. We investigated both light- and dark-skin disadvantage in a contemporary African-American study population.
METHODS
We used skin reflectance and questionnaire data from 1693, young African-American women in Detroit, Michigan, and dichotomized outcomes as advantaged/disadvantaged. We compared outcomes for women with light vs. medium skin color with prevalence differences (PDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and dark-skin disadvantage with prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% CIs for a 10-unit increase in skin color.
RESULTS
There was little evidence for light-skin disadvantage, but darker skin was associated with disadvantage across socioeconomic, health, and psychosocial domains. The strongest associations were for SES, but even controlling for SES, other associations included higher body mass index (PR 1.14 95% CI 1.08-1.20) and more stressful events (PR 1.10 95% CI 1.01-1.20).
CONCLUSIONS
Dark-skin disadvantage was the predominant form of colorism. Skin color metrics in public health research can capture more information than simple racial/ethnic categories, and such research could bring awareness to the deep-rooted colorism in society.
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