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MARGINALIZATION-RELATED DIMINISHED RETURNS

Welcome to the Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Research Center. MDRs is a research center focused on the experiences of middle-class Black people and their health consequences. We’re thrilled that you’ve decided to visit us - please browse our site to discover what are MDRs all about.

MDRs hold for almost all economic and health outcomes. Here is MDRs reviewed by Harvard University. Here is a link to 100+ papers showing MDRs. MDRs papers in children is available here. Here is a lecture summarizing 50+ MDRs papers.

Jan 30, 20215 min read

Black men face high discrimination and depression, even as their education and incomes rise

Are you a highly educated and relatively wealthy Black man in the U.S.? Studies that we have done and also those by others show that you...

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Jan 30, 20214 min read

Bootstrap Ideology may not work in underresourced Black communities

Many Americans deeply believe that people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps. After all, individual responsibility is a core...

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FOUNDING DIRECTOR

Dr. Shervin Assari is an associate professor of urban public health and family medicine at Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science. He is a social epidemiologist who studies the intersectional effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on Americans' physical and mental health over the life course. His work on Marginalization-related Diminished returns (MDRs) explains how social stratification, residential segregation, and structural racism deteriorate the health and well-being of middle-class Black families. The MDRs go beyond health disparities that are due to poverty and low SES and explain why racial health inequalities persist across the full SES spectrum. Dr. Assari and colleagues have authored more than 100 peer-reviewed papers on MDRs. He is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB), New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), and the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM). Here is a link to his 400+ papers. Here is a link to his CV.

GET IN TOUCH

shervinassari@cdrewu.edu