Race-based job discrimination, disparities in job control, and their joint effects on health

Objectives To examine disparities between job control scores in Black and White subjects and attempt to discern whether self‐rated low job control in Blacks may arise from structural segregation into different jobs, or represents individual responses to race‐based discrimination in hiring or promotion. Methods Data from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) were analyzed by mixed‐effects linear regression and variance regression to determine the effects of grouping by occupation, and racial discrimination in hiring or promotion, on control scores from the Job Content Questionnaire in Black and White subjects. Path analyses were constructed to determine the mediating effect of discrimination on pathways from education and job control to self‐rated health. Results Black subjects exhibited lower mean job control scores compared to Whites (mean score difference 2.26, P