Table 2 illustrates the complex relationship between race and SES by presenting national data on life expectancy at age by race and education. It shows that there is a 5 year racial difference in life expectancy at age 25 but an even larger difference, within each race by education. It also indicates that the racial differences in health cannot be simply reduced to SES because there are residual racial differences at every level of education. These data illustrate the notion of the potential “double jeopardy” facing non-dominant racial groups who experience health risks associated with both their stigmatized racial status and low SES (Ferraro and Farmer 1996). The life expectancy data at age 25 also reveal that the racial gap in life expectancy is greater at the higher levels of education compared to the lowest level. This is generally consistent with the “diminishing returns” hypothesis, which argues that racial minorities receive declining health returns as SES increases (Farmer and Ferraro 2005). This pattern exists for some but not all health outcomes. Sociologists have also shown that race and SES can
