Cohort Differences in Perceived Discrimination Trajectories among Aging Black Americans.

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines how later-life perceptions of everyday discrimination vary as a function of cohort-level differences in exposure to three distinct racialized social systems across historical time (i.e., whether individuals experienced childhood and early adolescence during the Pre-Brown v Board Era, Protest Era, or Colorblind Era).

Methods: We used the Health and Retirement Study to estimate age-specific trajectories in 5-item Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS-5) scores and counts of discriminatory situations among aging Black Americans. We then examined the likelihood of trajectory group membership as a function of cohort-level differences using multinomial logistic regression.

Results: Findings provide evidence of variation in EDS-5 score trajectories and in counts of discriminatory situation trajectories across birth cohorts. After adjustments, relative to members of the pre-Brown cohort, members of the Protest cohort are statistically significantly more likely to be members of the trajectory group characterized by high and rapidly declining levels of EDS-5 scores relative to a trajectory characterized by modest and declining EDS-5 scores. We found more evidence for variation in situational trajectory group membership across birth cohorts; however, this variation did not correspond with a clear pattern in terms of younger cohorts consistently experiencing either more or less discriminatory situations than their older counterparts.

Discussion: This study underscores the importance of examining perceived discrimination using multiple measurement approaches and efforts to disentangle the role of exposure to historically-varying racialized social systems in contributing to perceptions of unfair treatment at older ages.