An alienation score was calculated for MIDUS repondents based on the following items: feels betrayed, deceived; feels exploited; feels mistreated; believes others wish him/her to fail; sees self as target of false rumors; and feels unlucky. Here are the means by race/ethnicity (N = 3,988):
Mean alienation score
White 5.08
Black 6.03*
Amerindian 5.70*
Asian 5.79
Mexican 5.26
* significantly higher than whites
Blacks are slightly more than half a standard deviation above whites--a moderate difference. In a twin study, the heritability for a MMPI scale of alienation was .61, but the environmental component might be larger for racial minorities.
Are gun owners mentally ill?
Some anti-gun people think owning a gun is a sign of some kind of mental abnormality. According to General Social Survey data, gun owners ...
