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Objectives. We examined associations between perceived racial/ethnic discrimination, gender, and cigarette smoking among adolescents. Methods. We examined data on Black and Latino adolescents aged 12 to 19 years who participated in the Moving to Opportunity study (N=2561). Perceived discrimination was assessed using survey items asking about unfair treatment because of race/ethnicity in the prior 6 months. We used logistic regression to investigate associations between discrimination and smoking, stratified by gender and controlling for covariates. Results. One fourth of adolescents reported that discrimination had occurred in at least 1 location. Discrimination was associated with increased odds of smoking among boys (odds ratio [OR]=1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.2, 3.0) and decreased odds among girls (OR=0.6; 95% CI=0.3, 1.1). Discrimination at school or work contributed to associations for girls (OR=0.3; 95% CI=0.1, 0.9), and discrimination at shops (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.1, 3.8) and by police (OR=2.0; 95% CI=1.2, 3.4) contributed to associations for boys. Conclusions. Associations between discrimination and smoking differ by gender. Girls' decreased smoking in higher-discrimination settings may be a result of protective factors associated with where they spend time. Boys' increased smoking in higher-discrimination settings may reflect increased stress from gender-specific targeting by police and businesses. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:510-516. doi: 10.2106/AJPH.2009.169771)

Data repeatedly demonstrate that HIV-infected people who regularly utilize primary health care services are more likely to have access to lifesaving treatments (including antiretroviral medications); have better indicators of health status; survive longer; and use acute care services far less. Women tend to have poorer HIV outcomes than men, which is likely due to gender disparities in optimal utilization of HIV primary care services. To understand the relationship between gender and the HIV health care system, we collected interview and medical record data between August 12, 2004 and June 7, 2005 from 414 severely marginalized, HIV-infected people in New York City and examined whether gender-related disparities in HIV health care utilization existed, and, if so, whether these patterns were explained by patient sociodemographic/behavioral characteristics and/or attitudes toward the health care system and providers. Women were significantly less likely to have optimal HIV health care services utilization, including lower use of HIV primary care services (odds ratio [OR] = 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.35, 0.90) and greater use of the emergency department (OR = 2.13, 95% CI = 1.31, 3.46). Although we identified several factors associated with suboptimal HIV health care services utilization patterns in addition to female gender (low education, insurance status, mistrust of the health care system, and poor trust in health care providers), we were unable to identify factors that explained the observed gender disparities. We conclude that gender disparities in HIV health care utilization are due to a complex array of factors, which require more qualitative and quantitative research attention. Development of intervention strategies that specifically target severely disadvantaged women's HIV health care utilization is in great need.

The growing body of research on discrimination and health indicates a deleterious effect of discrimination on various health outcomes. However, less is known about the sociodemographic correlates of reporting racial discrimination and gender discrimination among racially diverse women. We examined the associations of social status characteristics with lifetime experiences of racial discrimination and gender discrimination using a racially-diverse sample of 754 women attending family planning clinics in North California (11.4% African American, 16.8% Latina, 10.1% Asian and 61.7% Caucasian). A multivariate analysis revealed that race, financial difficulty and marital status were significantly correlated with higher reports of racial discrimination, while race, education, financial difficulty and nativity were significantly correlated with gender discrimination scores. Our findings suggest that the social patterning of perceiving racial discrimination is somewhat different from that of gender discrimination. This has implications in the realm of discrimination research and applied interventions, as different forms of discrimination may have unique covariates that should be accounted for in research analysis or program design. KEYWORDS gender discrimination, racial discrimination, social correlates, discrimination

This study analyzes the variation in one measure of son preference that is of particular relevance in rural China: whether a woman considers it important to have a son, and the reasons why sons are important. To summarize our conclusions, we find that the expectation that a son will provide financial support in old age is strongly associated with the response that a son is important. This expectation is stronger in low income and mountainous villages, but it is weaker among women who earn cash income. The importance of a son is positively associated with ancestor worship and negatively associated with respondents' education, personal autonomy, the extent to which the husband shares housework, and exposure to the world beyond the village. We also find that sex-specific rates of infant mortality vary systematically with mother's response on the importance of a son, providing a test of the validity of our preference measure.

The percent female of an occupation lowers the pay it offers to both men and women, net of skill demands, nonpecuniary amenities and disamenities, and industrial and organizational characteristics. Net of these variables, including percent female, occupations involving nurturance offer lower wages to both men and women. We interpret these net wage penalties for working in a more female occupation, and for doing nurturant work, as sex discrimination in wage setting; occupations and types of skill are devalued because they are typically done by women. We suggest a thesis of the gendered valuation of roles and skills. The sex gap in pay would be reduced by policies mandating comparable worth in setting occupations' pay levels. Other factors contributing to the sex gap in pay include men's higher representation in jobs with authority and in occupations typically located in higher paying industries. Some nonpecuniary amenities and disamenities affect pay consistent with the theory of compensating differentials, but these make no contribution to the sex gap in pay., Among full-time year-round workers in the U.S., the 1980 census showed a sex gap in pay such that women's earnings were 61% of men's. Some of this pay gap resulted [...]