The social psychological costs of racial segmentation in the workplace: a study of African Americans' well-being.
Although several studies have documented how social-structural constraints impair psychological functioning, few have considered how race-related structural constraints impair African Americans' psychological functioning. This study focuses on an under-studied form of race-related structural constraints: racial segmentation in the workplace. Specifically, I examine the association between perceived workplace racial segmentation, conceived and assessed from a social psychological perspective, and African Americans' psychological well-being. The magnitude and consistency of the relationship is evaluated across both a national sample and a local probability sample of African Americans. Findings across the two samples indicate a modest but consistent negative relationship between perceived racial segmentation and psychological well-being. In addition, this association remains significant after controlling for perceived discrimination as well as sociodemographic and occupational characteristics. Consistent with prior research on relative deprivation, the adverse influence of perceived racial segmentation on well-being was stronger among higher socioeconomic status African Americans than lower socioeconomic African Americans.
Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Departments of Sociology and African American Studies (M/C 312), University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60607, USA. tyforman@uic.edu
Tyrone A
TA
Forman
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan; D011287:Prejudice; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012923:Social Class; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D017132:Workplace