HCBE Faculty Articles
What is there to be happy about? The impact of race and resilience in the United States
ORCID
Randi L. Sims0000-0001-5671-1045
,William Hawks0000-0001-9951-1449
,Baiyun Gong0000-0001-6842-0720
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
ISSN
2040-7149
Publication Date
8-29-2023
Abstract/Excerpt
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate racial differences in the moderating role of factors linked with resilience on the relationship between economic stress and happiness for Black and White residents of the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data were downloaded from the World Values Survey Wave 7 for adult respondents living in the USA. The entire sample of respondents who self-identified as belonging to the Black race (n = 209) was statistically matched (based on sex – 50% male and average age – 39 years) with a similarly sized random sample of respondents who self-identified as belonging to the White race (n = 217).
Findings
The results suggest that economic stress had the potential to trigger a resilience response. However, the protective factors in the resilience process differed by race of the respondent. The relationship between economic stress and perceptions of neighborhood safety was conditional on level of control for the White sample. The relationship between economic stress and happiness for the Black sample was conditional on the importance of faith.
Originality/value
The study was able to demonstrate the importance of race-based contextual differences in the roles of faith and control in the resilience process. The findings also increase the understanding of how life circumstances and individual characteristics, including race, impact happiness and how much or little resilience may play a part in the achievement of happiness.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-01-2023-0018
Volume
43
Issue
1
First Page
153
Last Page
170
NSUWorks Citation
Sims, Randi L.; Hawks, William; and Gong, Baiyun, "What is there to be happy about? The impact of race and resilience in the United States" (2023). HCBE Faculty Articles. 1192.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hcbe_facarticles/1192
Comments
Acknowledgements:Disclaimer. This case is intended to be used as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. The case was compiled from published sources.