Perceived racial misclassification: Implications for health

Health disparities associated with racial characteristics and group membership have been widely noted, and the eradication of such disparities is a primary goal of the Healthy People 2010 initiative (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). Racial misclassification, defined as discordance between one's self-identified race and that assigned by others, and its impact on health remains an underrepresented avenue of research (Campbell & Troyer, 2007). The current study sought to identify the effects of perceived racial misclassification among a nationally representative sample of adults using data from the 2004-2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Surveys. Our results suggest that perceived racial misclassification is associated with poorer mental and physical health; especially among participants identifying as white or Hispanic. Perceived racial misclassification among whites was associated with lower self-reported health status (OR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.04) and a greater likelihood of reporting emotional (OR = 2.44, 95% CI: 1.68, 3.55) and physical symptoms (OR = 3.07, 95% CI: 1.52, 6.22). In contrast, Hispanics reporting perceived racial misclassification were less likely to report emotional distress associated with perceived discrimination when seeking healthcare (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.85). The findings suggest that perceived racial misclassification is associated with poorer mental and physical health and that the effect of perceived racial misclassification may vary across race categories. Further research should focus on the influence of perceived racial misclassification on a broader range of health outcomes and the relationships between self-identified race and perceptions of racial categorization.