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New Evidence of Skin Color Bias and Health Outcomes Using Sibling Difference Models: A Research Note

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Laidley

    (New York University)

  • Benjamin Domingue

    (Stanford University)

  • Piyapat Sinsub

    (Princeton University)

  • Kathleen Mullan Harris

    (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

  • Dalton Conley

    (Princeton University)

Abstract

In this research note, we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to determine whether darker skin tone predicts hypertension among siblings using a family fixed-effects analytic strategy. We find that even after we account for common family background and home environment, body mass index, age, sex, and outdoor activity, darker skin color significantly predicts hypertension incidence among siblings. In a supplementary analysis using newly released genetic data from Add Health, we find no evidence that our results are biased by genetic pleiotropy, whereby differences in alleles among siblings relate to coloration and directly to cardiovascular health simultaneously. These results add to the extant evidence on color biases that are distinct from those based on race alone and that will likely only heighten in importance in an increasingly multiracial environment as categorization becomes more complex.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Laidley & Benjamin Domingue & Piyapat Sinsub & Kathleen Mullan Harris & Dalton Conley, 2019. "New Evidence of Skin Color Bias and Health Outcomes Using Sibling Difference Models: A Research Note," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 753-762, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:56:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s13524-018-0756-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-018-0756-6
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    1. Victor Hugo de Oliveira & José Raimundo Carvalho, 2024. "Measuring skin color inequality in women's health in Northeast Brazil: Evidence from the PCSVDFMulher survey," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 3-11, January.
    2. Alexander, Adam C. & Nollen, Nicole L. & Ahluwalia, Jasjit S. & Hébert, Emily T. & Businelle, Michael S. & Kendzor, Darla E., 2019. "Darker skin color is associated with a lower likelihood of smoking cessation among males but not females," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).

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