Multidimensional Deprivation at the Intersections of Race, Sex, Hispanic Ethnicity, and Nativity

This chapter employs an intersectional framework to analyze whether race, sex, Hispanic ethnicity, and nativity jointly shape experiences of multidimensional deprivation. Employing the Multidimensional Deprivation Index (MDI) and data from the 2008–2023 American Community Survey, deprivation among 48 unique population subgroups, defined by intersecting social identities, is examined. The results reveal stark disparities. For example, foreign-born Hispanic women who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, black, or Asian or Pacific Islander (API) have MDI, headcount ratio, and average intensity of deprivation values that far exceed national averages. In contrast, native-born non-Hispanic white and API men consistently face the lowest levels of deprivation. These findings suggest that multidimensional deprivation is not necessarily an additive phenomenon but can be multiplicative, with overlapping forms of marginalization producing unique deprivation profiles. Variation is also observed across the intersectional subgroups in terms of their frequencies of deprivation for the four dimensions and across the eight related indicators that, collectively, comprise the MDI.