Our knowledge remains limited about why there are large racial/ethnic differences in wealth among the middle class in the United States. Owning a home and having positive net worth (i.e., more assets than debts) are important aspirations for the middle class because they signify wealth. This study uses a social-psychological perspective and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to explore whether the effects of psychological dispositions on these indicators of wealth differ for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites. Results reveal that having a stronger sense of personal control over life and higher self-esteem significantly increase the odds of achieving positive net worth and homeownership, independent of demographics, educational attainment, current employment, income, and the socioeconomic status of the family of origin. Moreover, interaction effects indicate that the influence of internal locus of control on wealth is stronger for Whites than Blacks. Overall, this study’s findings suggest that the journey between social origins and destinations does not simply need socioeconomic resources, but also psychological resources that come from within the self-concept of the individual. The public policy and mental health implications for the Black middle class are discussed.
AllisonP. D. (2002). Missing data. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
2.
BirndorfS.RyanS.AuingerP.AtenM. (2005). High self-esteem among adolescents: Longitudinal trends, sex differences, and protective factors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37, 194-201.
3.
BruceM. A.ThorntonM. C. (2004). It’s my world? Exploring Black and White perceptions of personal control. The Sociological Quarterly, 45, 597-612.
4.
CastA.BurkeP. J. (2002). A theory of self-esteem. Social Forces, 80, 1041-1068.
5.
Christie-MizellC. A.EricksonR. J. (2007). Mothers and mastery: The consequences of perceived neighborhood disorder. Social Psychology Quarterly,70, 340-365.
6.
ConleyD. (1999). Being Black, living in the red: Race, wealth, and social policy in America. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
7.
DemoD. H.Savin-WilliamsR. C. (1983). Early adolescent self-esteem as a function of social class: Rosenberg and Pearlin revisited. American Journal of Sociology,88, 763-774.
8.
DooleyD.PrauseJ. (1997). Effect of students’ self-esteem on later employment status: Interactions of self-esteem with gender and race. Applied Psychology: An International Review,46, 175-198.
9.
DrenteaP. (2000). Age, debt, and anxiety. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41, 437-450.
10.
DunifonR.DuncanG. J. (1998). Long-run effects of motivation on labor market success. Social Psychology Quarterly,61, 33-48.
11.
ElderG. H.Jr. (1985). Perspectives on the life course. In ElderG. H.Jr. (Ed.), Life course dynamics: Trajectories and transitions, 1968-1980 (pp. 23-49). Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
12.
GecasV. (2004). Self-Agency and the life course. In MortimerJ. T.ShanahanM. J. (Eds.), Handbook of the life course (pp. 369-88). New York: Kluwer/Plenum Publishers.
13.
GoldsmithA.VeumJ.DarityW.Jr. ( 1997). The impact of psychological and human capital on wages. Economic Inquiry, 35, 815-829.
14.
HodgeR. W.SiegelP. M.RossiP. H. (1964). Occupational prestige in the United States, 1925-63. American Journal of Sociology, 70, 286-302.
15.
HughesM.DemoD. H. (1989). Perceptions of Black Americans: Self-esteem and personal efficacy. American Journal of Sociology, 95, 132-159.
16.
JacksonP. B.LassiterS. P. (2001). Self-esteem and race. In OwensT. J.StrykerS.GoodmanN. (Eds.), Extending self-esteem theory and research: Sociological and psychological currents (pp. 301-329). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
17.
JacksonP. B.StewartQ. (2003). A research agenda for the Black middle class: Work stress, survival strategies, and mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior,44, 442-455.
KeisterL. A. (2000). Wealth in America: Trends in wealth inequality. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
20.
KeisterL. A.MollerS. (2000). Wealth inequality in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 63-81.
21.
KerckhoffA. C. (1989). On the social psychology of social mobility processes. Social Forces, 68, 17-25.
22.
LacyK. R. (2007). Blue-Chip Black: Race, class, and status in the new Black middle class. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
23.
LandryB. (1987). The new Black middle class. Berkeley: University of California Press.
24.
LewisS. K.RossC. E.MirowskyJ. (1999). Establishing a sense of personal control in the transition to adulthood. Social Forces, 77, 1573-1599.
25.
LiuX.KaplanH. B.RisserW. (1992). Decomposing the reciprocal relationships between academic achievement and general self-esteem. Youth and Society,24, 123-148.
26.
MahaffyK. A. (2004). Girl’s low self-esteem: How is it related to later socioeconomic achievements?Gender and Society, 18, 309-27.
27.
MariniM. M.FanP. (1997). The gender gap in earnings at career entry. American Sociological Review, 62, 588-604.
28.
McLeodJ. D.NonnemakerJ. M. (1999). Social stratification and inequality. In AneshenselC. S.PhelanJ. C. (Eds.), Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health (pp. 321-344). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
29.
MortimerJ. T. (1996). Social-psychological aspects of achievement. In KerckoffA. C. (Ed.), Generating social stratification: Toward a new research agenda (pp. 17-36). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
30.
MossakowskiK. N. (2003). Coping with perceived discrimination: Does ethnic identity protect mental health?Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44, 318-331.
31.
MossakowskiK. N. (2008). Dissecting the influence of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on mental health in young adulthood. Research on Aging, 30(6), 649-671.
32.
OliverM. L.ShapiroT. M. (1997). Black wealth/White wealth: A new perspective on racial inequality. NewYork: Routledge.
33.
Pattillo-McCoyM. (1999). Black picket fences: Privilege and peril among the Black middle class. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
34.
PavalkoE.MossakowskiK. N.HamiltonV. (2003). Does perceived discrimination affect health? Longitudinal relationships between work discrimination and women’s physical and emotional health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44 (1), 18-33.
PorterJ. R.WashingtonR. E. (1993). Minority identity and self-esteem. Annual Review of Sociology, 19, 139-161.
37.
RosenbergM.PearlinL. I. (1978). Social class and self-esteem among children and adults. American Journal of Sociology, 84, 53-77.
38.
RosenbergM. (1979). Conceiving the self. Malabar, FL: Robert E. Krieger Publishing Company.
39.
RosenbergM. (1989). Self-concept research: A historical overview. Social Forces, 68, 34-44.
40.
RossC. E.BrohB. A. (2000). The roles of self-esteem and the sense of personal control in the academic process. Sociology of Education, 73, 270-284.
41.
RossC.MirowskyJ.PribeshS. (2001). Powerlessness and the amplification of threat: Neighborhood disadvantage, disorder, and mistrust. American Sociological Review, 66, 568-591.
42.
RotterJ. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal vs. external control of reinforcements. Psychological Monographs, 80, 1-28.
43.
ShanahanM. J. (2000). Pathways to adulthood in changing societies: Variability and mechanisms in life course perspective. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 667-692.
44.
ShapiroT. M. (2004). The hidden cost of being African American: How wealth perpetuates inequality. New York: Oxford University Press.
45.
SpilermanS. (2000). Wealth and stratification processes. Annual Review of Sociology,26, 497-524.
46.
StephanW. G.RosenfieldD. (1978). Effects of desegregation on race relations and self-esteem. Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 670-679.
47.
U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. (1999). National Longitudinal Surveys: NLSY79 User’s Guide.
WellsL. E. (2001). Self-esteem and social inequality. In OwensT. J.StrykerS.GoodmanN. (Eds.), Extending self-esteem theory and research: Sociological and psychological currents (pp. 301-329). Cambridg e, UK: Cambridge University Press.
51.
WilsonG.MossakowskiK. N. (2009). Fear of job loss: Racial/ethnic differences in privileged occupations. Du Bois Review,6(2), 357-374.
52.
WilsonG. (2007). Racialized life-chance opportunities across the class structure: The case of African Americans. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 609, 215-232.
