Guided by an intersectionality framework, this study examined intersectional discrimination attributions and their associations with health outcomes. Older respondents (aged ≥50) from the Health and Retirement Study in 2014-2015 were included (N = 6286). Their reasons for discrimination (age, gender, sexual orientation, race, national origin, religion, financial status, weight, physical appearance, disability, and others) were examined. Latent class analysis examined the subgroup profiles. Six classes were identified: class 1 (54.52% of the sample) had no/minimal discrimination; Class 2 (21.89%) experienced primarily ageism; class 3 (8.81%) reported discrimination based on age/gender/national origin/race; class 4 (7.99%) attributed discrimination to financial/other reasons; class 5 (5.87%) experienced discrimination based on age/weight/physical appearance/disability; and class 6 (0.92%) perceived high discrimination. Intersectional discrimination was associated with poorer self-rated health and higher depressive symptoms compared to the no/minimal discrimination group. Multiple marginalized identities co-occur and contribute to discrimination. An intersectional approach is recommended to understand discrimination in later life.
AyalonL.GumA. M. (2011). The relationships between major lifetime discrimination, everyday discrimination, and mental health in three racial and ethnic groups of older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 15(5), 587–594. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2010.543664
2.
BarnesL. L.LewisT.BegenyC.YuL.BennettD.WilsonR. (2012). Perceived discrimination and cognition in older african americans. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: JINS, 18(5), 856. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617712000628
3.
BauerG. R. (2014). Incorporating intersectionality theory into population health research methodology: Challenges and the potential to advance health equity. Social Science & Medicine, 110, 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.03.022
4.
BeaumasterS.ChienS.CrosswellA.LinA.PhillipsD.ValevM.WilkensJ.LeeJ. (2018). Harmonized HRS documentation, version B, october 2018. Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California.
5.
BryanA. E.KimH.-J.Fredriksen-GoldsenK. I. (2017). Factors associated with high-risk alcohol consumption among LGB older adults: The roles of gender, social support, perceived stress, discrimination, and stigma. The Gerontologist, 57(S1), S95–S104. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw100
6.
BugliariD.CampbellN.ChanC.HaydenO.HayesJ.HurdM.KarabatakisA.MainR.MallettJ.McCulloughC.MeijerE.MoldoffM.PantojaP.RohwedderS.St.ClairP. (2019). RAND HRS longitudinal file 2016 (V1) documentation. RAND Center for the Study of Aging.
7.
ByrdC. M.AndrewsD. J. C. (2016). Variations in students’ perceived reasons for, sources of, and forms of in-school discrimination: A latent class analysis. Journal Of School Psychology, 57, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2016.05.001
8.
ChrislerJ. C.BarneyA.PalatinoB. (2016). Ageism can be hazardous to women’s health: Ageism, sexism, and stereotypes of older women in the healthcare system. Journal of Social Issues, 72(1), 86–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12157
9.
CobbR. J.ParkerL. J.ThorpeR. JJr. (2020a). Self-reported instances of major discrimination, race/ethnicity, and inflammation among older adults: Evidence from the health and retirement study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 75(2), 291–296. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gly267
10.
CobbR. J.ThorpeR. J.JrNorrisK. C. (2020b). Everyday discrimination and kidney function Among older adults: Evidence From the health and retirement study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 75(3), 517–521. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glz294
11.
CollinsP. H. (2002). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.
12.
De MedeirosK. (2016). Myths and common assumptions about aging. The short guide to aging and gerontology (pp. 51–68). Policy Press.
13.
EarnshawV. A.RosenthalL.Gilstad-HaydenK.Carroll-ScottA., KershawT. S.SantilliA.J. R.Ickovics (2018). Intersectional experiences of discrimination in a low-resource urban community: An exploratory latent class analysis. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 28, 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2342
14.
GarnettB. R.MasynK. E.AustinS. B.MillerM.WilliamsD. R.ViswanathK. (2014). The intersectionality of discrimination attributes and bullying among youth: An applied latent class analysis. Journal Of Youth And Adolescence, 43, 1225–1239. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0073-8
15.
GendronT. L.InkerJ.WellefordE. A. (2018). A theory of relational ageism: A discourse analysis of the 2015 white house conference on aging. The Gerontologist, 58(2), 242–250. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw155
16.
GendronT.InkerJ. K.AndricoskyR.ZanjaniF. (2020). Development of the relational ageism scale: Confirmatory test on survey data. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 90(3), 281–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415019836956
17.
HanJ.RichardsonV. E. (2015). The relationships among perceived discrimination, self-perceptions of aging, and depressive symptoms: A longitudinal examination of age discrimination. Aging & Mental Health, 19(8), 747–755. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.962007
18.
HansenK. L.MelhusM.LundE. (2010). Ethnicity, self-reported health, discrimination and socio-economic status: A study of sami and non-sami norwegian populations. International Journal Of Circumpolar Health, 69(2), 111–128. https://doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v69i2.17438
19.
HarnoisC. E. (2014). Are perceptions of discrimination unidimensional, oppositional, or intersectional? Examining the relationship among perceived racial–ethnic-, gender-, and age-based discrimination. Sociological Perspectives, 57(4), 470–487. https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121414543028
20.
JacksonS. E.BeekenR. J.WardleJ. (2015). Obesity, perceived weight discrimination, and psychological well-being in older adults in E ngland. Obesity, 23(5), 1105–1111. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21052
21.
KimH. J.Fredriksen-GoldsenK. I.. (2017). Disparities in mental health quality of life between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White LGB midlife and older adults and the influence of lifetime discrimination, social connectedness, socioeconomic status, and perceived stress. Research on Aging, 39(9), 991–1012. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027516650003
22.
LewisT. T.CogburnC. D.WilliamsD. R. (2015). Self-reported experiences of discrimination and health: Scientific advances, ongoing controversies, and emerging issues. Annual Review Of Clinical Psychology, 11, 407–440. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032814-112728
23.
LinzerD. A.LewisJ. B. (2011). poLCA: An R package for polytomous variable latent class analysis. Journal Of Statistical Software, 42(10), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v042.i10
24.
LuP.ShelleyM.LiuY. L. (2021). Government transfer and poverty alleviation among older adults in the united states from 2002 to 2014. Social Policy and Society. 20(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1017/S147474642000041X
25.
McArdleJ. J.FisherG. G.KadlecK. M. (2007). Latent variable analyses of age trends of cognition in the health and retirement study, 1992–2004. Psychology And Aging, 22(3), 525. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.22.3.525
26.
McCoyR. (2011). African american elders, cultural traditions, and the family reunion. Generations (san Francisco, Calif ), 35(3), 16–21.
27.
MeisnerB. A.HynieM. (2009). Ageim with heterosexism: Self-perceptions, identity, and psychological health in older gay and lesbian adults. Gay & Lesbian Issues & Psychology Review, 5(1), 51–58.
28.
MolinariC. A.McSweeney-FeldM. H. (2017). At the intersection of ageism and heterosexism: Making the case to deliver culturally competent health care for LGTB older adults. The Journal of Health Administration Education, 34(3), 473.
29.
MouzonD. M.TaylorR. J.NguyenA. W.IfatunjiM. A.ChattersL. M. (2020). Everyday discrimination typologies among older african americans: Gender and socioeconomic status. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 75(9), 1951–1960. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz088
30.
PascoeE. A.Smart RichmanL. (2009). Perceived discrimination and health: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(4), 531. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016059
31.
PérezD. J.FortunaL.AlegriaM. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of everyday discrimination among US latinos. Journal Of Community Psychology, 36(4), 421–433. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20221
32.
PotterL.ZawadzkiM. J.EcclestonC. P.CookJ. E.SnipesS. A.SliwinskiM. J.SmythJ. M. (2019). The intersections of race, gender, age, and socioeconomic status: Implications for reporting discrimination and attributions to discrimination. Stigma And Health, 4(3), 264. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000099
33.
PuhlR. M.AndreyevaT.BrownellK. D. (2008). Perceptions of weight discrimination: Prevalence and comparison to race and gender discrimination in america. International Journal of Obesity, 32, 992–1000. https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.22
34.
ReutterL. I.StewartM. J.VeenstraG.LoveR.RaphaelD.MakwarimbaE. (2009). “Who do they think we are, anyway?”: Perceptions of and responses to poverty stigma. Qualitative Health Research, 19(3), 297–311. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732308330246
35.
RipponI.KnealeD.de OliveiraC.DemakakosP.SteptoeA. (2014). Perceived age discrimination in older adults. Age And Ageing, 43, 379–386. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/aft146
36.
SengJ. S.LopezW. D.SperlichM.HamamaL.MeldrumC. D. R. (2012). Marginalized identities, discrimination burden, and mental health: Empirical exploration of an interpersonal-level approach to modeling intersectionality. Social Science & Medicine, 75, 2437–2445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.09.023
37.
ShankarA.HindsP. (2017). Perceived discrimination: Associations with physical and cognitive function in older adults. Health Psychology, 36(12), 1126. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000522
38.
SutinA. R.StephanY.CarrettaH.TerraccianoA. (2015). Perceived discrimination and physical, cognitive, and emotional health in older adulthood. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(2), 171–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2014.03.007
39.
TempleJ. B.KelaherM.WilliamsR. (2019). Disability discrimination and avoidance in later life: Prevalence, disability differentials and association with mental health. International Psychogeriatrics, 31(9), 1319–1329. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610218001722
40.
VauclairC.-M.MarquesS.LimaM. L.AbramsD.SwiftH.BrattC. (2015). Perceived age discrimination as a mediator of the association between income inequality and older people’s self-rated health in the european region. Journals of Gerontology Series B:, 70(6), 901–912. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbu066
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
