The Relative Contribution of Ethnicity Versus Socioeconomic Status in Explaining Differences in Disability and Receipt of Informal Care

Data from a comparative study of 1975 African American, Puerto Rican, and non-Hispanic White persons age 60 and older in a large Northeastern city were used to investigate the relative contribution of ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) to explaining differences in the need for and receipt of informal care. It was hypothesized that differences in disability would be related largely to SES, whereas ethnicity would account for most of the differences in the amount of informal care. The results of a path analysis argue in favor of a cultural rather than a socioeconomic explanation for between-group differences. SES had no direct effect on disability when controlling for ethnicity. Ethnicity did explain between-group differences in the amount of care. Even when controlling for disability, elders in the two minority groups received more informal care than did older White persons. The findings illuminate the important role played by ethnicity in explaining an older person's need for and receipt of long-term care assistance.