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Racial and Ethnic Differences in Socioeconomic Status. Racial and ethnic differences in socioeconomic status are reflected in the characteristics of DoD parents, as well as in CPS comparison data. Both Hispanics and
Blacks show lower socioeconomic status than Whites using several measures. However, racial and ethnic differences among recruits are less than the comparable differences in the civilian population, as the
following discussion illustrates.Table 7.6 shows the number of parents in the family for White, Black, and Hispanic recruits, and gives comparable
percentages for the civilian population. Black youth are much less likely to live with both parents than White youth are. In the civilian population, fewer than half (42 percent) of Black youth live with two
parents, while more than three-quarters (76 percent) of White youth and nearly two-thirds of Hispanic youth (65 percent) do. Both White and Hispanic recruits are similar to their CPS counterparts in this
respect. Black recruits are more likely than Black CPS youth to live with both parents (50 percent vs. 42 percent), although they are still less likely than either White or Hispanic recruits to live with two
parents (75 percent and 67 percent, respectively).
Table 7.6. Parents in Family of FY 1998 Recruits, by Race/Ethnicity,
with Civilian Comparison Group (Percent) |
| Adults at Home |
DoD |
CPS |
| White |
Black |
Hispanic |
Total |
White |
Black |
Hispanic |
Total |
| Father, Stepfather, or Male Guardian |
7.0 |
6.0 |
5.7 |
6.8 |
6.1 |
6.3 |
6.2 |
6.2 |
| Mother, Stepmother, or Female Guardian |
18.6 |
44.0 |
27.1 |
24.8 |
17.5 |
52.2 |
28.7 |
23.3 |
| Both |
74.5 |
50.0 |
67.2 |
68.5 |
76.4 |
41.5 |
65.0 |
70.5 |
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Source: Civilian data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population survey File, October 1997–September 1998 |
Other measures also indicate the relative disadvantage of minority families within the
civilian population, although the patterns vary (Table 7.7). Within the CPS data, 51 percent of Hispanic parents completed high school compared to the overall average
of 85 percent. Similarly, White fathers and mothers are more likely to own their home (89 percent and 85 percent, respectively) than are either Black (75 percent
and 57 percent, respectively) or Hispanic (65 percent and 58 percent, respectively) parents. Differences in employment rates are smaller, but indicate greater
employment for White parents. Overall differences within the civilian population are summarized by the median TSEI scores, which are highest for White parents and
lowest for Hispanic parents, with Black parents obtaining intermediate values.
Table 7.7. Selected Characteristics of Parents of FY 1998 NPS Recruits, by Race/Ethnicity,
with Civilian Comparison Group |
| Highest Level of Education |
DoD |
CPS |
| White |
Black |
Hispanic |
Total |
White |
Black |
Hispanic |
Total |
| FATHERS |
| High School Graduate of More |
86.0% |
82.2% |
68.1% |
82.7% |
90.7% |
81.1% |
50.8% |
84.8% |
| Own their Home |
82.4% |
69.9% |
67.5% |
78.3% |
88.7% |
74.9% |
65.4% |
83.9% |
| Currently Employed |
90.2% |
86.8% |
87.1% |
89.3% |
90.8% |
79.9% |
84.1% |
88.7% |
| Median TSEI |
36.1 |
31.3 |
31.9 |
36.1 |
38.5 |
29.7 |
25.8 |
37.0 |
| MOTHERS |
| High School Graduate of More |
86.6% |
85.0% |
66.1% |
83.1% |
92.5% |
81.2% |
51.2% |
85.4% |
| Own their Home |
78.7% |
59.0% |
60.9% |
72.0% |
85.0% |
56.8% |
57.9% |
77.3% |
| Currently Employed |
79.0% |
79.9% |
70.2% |
77.8% |
76.6% |
70.1% |
58.8% |
73.3% |
| Median TSEI |
31.1 |
30.3 |
30.3 |
30.9 |
35.8 |
29.7 |
24.6 |
31.7 |
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Source: Civilian data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey File, October 1997–September 1998. |
The disparity in socioeconomic status among CPS parents is represented at a reduced level among DoD parents. In general, White DoD parents have lower
values on several different socioeconomic measures than their CPS counterparts, while minority parents of recruits have higher values than do minority CPS parents.
As shown in Table 7.7, there is very little difference in median TSEI among DoD mothers, while there is an 11-point range among CPS mothers. Similarly, the
difference between racial and ethnic groups among DoD fathers is 5 points or less, compared to a 13-point difference among CPS fathers. Overall, racial and ethnic
differences in socioeconomic status among recruit parents reflect differences in the population as a whole, but at a reduced level. Go to Chapter 8.
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