Ethnicity and Causal Mechanisms

Research clearly indicates that ethnic groups differ significantly on levels of mental and physical health, antisocial behavior, and educational attainment. This book explains these variations with respect to their psychological and social functioning and tests competing hypotheses about the mechanisms that might cause the functioning to differ in pattern from other groups. Attention is paid to educational attainments, antisocial behavior, schizophrenia and suicide, and to the complex and changing patterns of ethnic identity. The book concludes with a discussion of the multiple meanings of ethnicity, the major variations among ethnic groups, and policy implications.

This book explains the role of ethnicity in group differences across social and psychopathological settings.

Michael Rutter is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. His research has included the genetics of autism, the effect of early severe deprivation on Romanian orphans adopted into Britain, and the study of both school and environmental influences on children's behavior. He has published nearly 40 books.

Marta Tienda is Maurice P. During 22 Professor in Demographic Studies and Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. She has written and edited numerous papers and several books, including The Hispanic Population of the United States, Divided Opportunities, Hispanics and the U.S. Economy, and The Color of Opportunity.