Growing Up as the Numeric Minority: Living in a Predominately African-American and Impoverished Neighborhood

Background: Studies show that ethnic minorities may suffer from having to adapt to an environment that is socially and culturally different, therefore establishing a negative person-environment context resulting in a cultural mismatch. However, in many impoverished neighborhoods, biracial and Caucasian adolescents comprise the numeric minority with the majority of individuals living in these neighborhoods being African-American. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the risk behaviors of biracial and Caucasian adolescents living in predominantly African-American and impoverished neighborhoods, where they themselves make up the numeric minority. Methods: This study will capitalize on the Mobile Youth Survey (MYS), a 10-year, community-based, multiple cohort longitudinal study being conducted in adolescents who live in socially disadvantaged areas in Mobile and Prichard Alabama. Preliminary analyses were conducted using MYS data from 1998 to 2005 using the statistical software, SAS 9.1. Results: A multi-level analysis shows a significant race x neighborhood racial composition interaction for several risk behaviors, indicating that impoverished Caucasians and mixed-race adolescents are at particular risk as the percentage of African Americans living in their neighborhoods increases. Conclusions: Caucasian and biracial adolescents living as a numeric minority in impoverished neighborhoods may fare worse than their African-American counterparts regarding risk behaviors which may be connected with high levels of hopelessness and a psychological disconnection to their neighborhood.