Social structure and psychological distress among blacks and whites in America

This study tests the relationships between social stratification and psychological distress in terms of the Ross/Mirowsky thesis, which states that we can evaluate the subjective quality of social conditions by mapping the relationship of feelings such as fear, anxiety, frustration, demoralization, and hope, to specific social conditions and positions. More specifically, data are applied in this analysis to test the hypothesis that for Blacks (or any minority group), negative self-evaluations (internalization of White labeling) are not the problem— discrimination and disadvantage are. The results of this investigation do tend to support this interesting possibility.