Racial and Ethnic Differences in Everyday Discrimination Measures in a National Sample of U.S. Adults.

BACKGROUND

Everyday discrimination is a pervasive social stressor that has been linked to adverse health outcomes and contributes to persistent health inequities in the United States. Understanding contemporary patterns of discrimination across racial and ethnic groups remains an important public health priority. Our study examined racial and ethnic differences in multiple forms of everyday discrimination among U.S. adults.

METHODS

Data were drawn from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey, a national U.S. sample of non-institutionalized adults aged ≥ 18 years. The analytic sample included 28,797 adults who identified as White, Black, Hispanic, or Asian. Everyday discrimination was measured using the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Separate multiple logistic regression models were estimated to assess associations between race and ethnicity and five discrimination measures, adjusted for covariates.

RESULTS

Both Black and Asian adults had higher odds of reporting multiple forms of everyday discrimination compared to White adults. Black adults exhibited elevated odds across all five measures, particularly being perceived as threatening (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 2.02-2.51). Similarly, Asian adults had higher odds of reporting discrimination, particularly poorer service (OR = 1.83, 95% CI: 1.60-2.10). In contrast, Hispanic adults demonstrated a mixed pattern, including lower odds of reporting disrespect (OR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.81-0.96), but higher odds of reporting poorer service (OR = 1.24, 95% CI: 1.13-1.36).

CONCLUSION

Racial and ethnic differences in everyday discrimination varied across measures, with consistently higher odds among Black and Asian adults and more variable patterns among Hispanic adults, highlighting the importance of addressing discrimination across social contexts.