American Dreaming? Evaluating Trait Explanations for Health Inequalities by Race and Socioeconomic Status

In the context of strong cultural beliefs associated with the American Dream, a prominent body of scholarship asserts that traits such as intelligence, self-confidence, and self-control play a pivotal role in the life course emergence of health inequalities by race and socioeconomic status (SES). We use prospectively ascertained data from approximately 50-year-old Black and White study participants (N = 605) whose mothers were recruited when pregnant with the participant. Follow-up into adulthood provided measures of cognitive and noncognitive traits, SES, and health needed to test trait explanations. Results show no evidence that traits are independently associated with adult health when SES is controlled or that they account for race or SES inequalities in health. Although the American Dream emphasizes individual traits as key factors shaping life outcomes, our results suggest the need to look elsewhere to understand why health inequalities by race and SES are such prominent social facts.