Ethnic Comparisons in Perceptions of Health, Happiness, Hope, and Related Social Determinants of Health in a Majority-Minority Midwestern Town

Authors

Virginia Chaidez, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Yumou Qiu, Iowa State UniversityFollow
Angela L. Palmer-Wackerly, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Julie A. Tippens, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Gilbert R. Parra, University of Southern MississippiFollow
Patrick Habecker, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Kimberly Gocchi Carrasco, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jordan Soliz, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Lisa M. PytlikZillig, University of NebraskaFollow
Kirk Dombrowski, kdombrowski2@unl.eduFollow

Keywords

rural immigration, social determinants of health, happiness, hope

Abstract

In a rural Midwestern community sample (n=273), large proportions of Somalis and Whites ranked overall health as "Very good" (57% and 50%, respectively), while Hispanics (42%) considered it "Good". Across all groups, most are either "Happy" or "Very happy" with their jobs—64%, 91%, 83%—or their families—85%, 93%, 91.6%— with reference to Hispanics, Somalis, and Whites, respectively. When asked “In the past 30 days, how often did you feel hopeless?”, 83% of Somalis and two-thirds (67%) of Whites responded, "None of the time", while half (50%) of Hispanics indicated the same. Overall, Hispanics appeared to be less healthy, happy, and hopeful than their White and Somali counterparts.

Recommended Citation

Chaidez, Virginia; Qiu, Yumou; Palmer-Wackerly, Angela L.; Tippens, Julie A.; Parra, Gilbert R.; Habecker, Patrick; Carrasco, Kimberly Gocchi; Soliz, Jordan; PytlikZillig, Lisa M.; and Dombrowski, Kirk (2021) "Ethnic Comparisons in Perceptions of Health, Happiness, Hope, and Related Social Determinants of Health in a Majority-Minority Midwestern Town," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 48: Iss. 1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.4475
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol48/iss1/6