Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1828 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Thu 19 Feb 2009 11:57 Post subject: Genetic admixture, self-reported ethnicity, self-estimated
Quote:
Genetic admixture, self-reported ethnicity, self-estimated admixture, and skin pigmentation among Hispanics and Native Americans
Yann C. Klimentidis et al.
Abstract
The relationship between ethnicity and biology is of interest to anthropologists, biomedical scientists, and historians in understanding how human groups are constructed. Ethnic self-identification in recently admixed groups such as Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans (NA) is likely to be complex due to the heterogeneity in individual admixture proportions and social environments within these groups. This study examines the relationships between self-identified ethnicity, self-estimated admixture proportions, skin pigmentation, and genetic marker estimated admixture proportions. These measures were assessed using questionnaires, skin color measurements, and genotyping of a panel of 76 ancestry informative markers, among 170 Hispanics and NAs from New Mexico, a state known for its complex history of interactions between people of NA and European (EU) ancestry. Results reveal that NAs underestimate their degree of EU admixture, and that Hispanics underestimate their degree of NA admixture. Within Hispanics, genetic-marker estimated admixture is better predicted by forehead skin pigmentation than by self-estimated admixture. We also find that Hispanic individuals self-identified as half-White, half Hispanic and Spanish have lower levels of NA admixture than those self-identified as Mexican and Mexican American. Such results highlight the interplay between culture and biology in how individuals identify and view themselves, and have implications for how ethnicity and disease risk are assessed in a medical setting.
Thank you, Dragon Horse, good catch. This thread was moved from the "Racialism in Science" forum because it is about another Mark Shriver DNA admixture study, not a search for "race" in the genome.
Only the abstract is available at the link. If any member has access to the full PDF, I would be grateful if they would put a copy into this site's library of admixture studies, which is a resource heavily used by students.
This study measured only residents of New Mexico. it would be great if anyone could find a similar study for southern California. (Liu 2006 is not suitable because, despite its oddly-worded abstract, it reports intra-group homogeneity not absolute admixture versus ethnicity.)
The comparison would be great because the well-established Hispanic families of New Mexico differ greatly in self-identity from those of the Los Angeles area. The latter (Chicanos) emphasize their "Aztec" heritage and do not generally consider themselves socially White. The former call themselves "Spanish" and are very sensitive that they are perfectly White. They once persuaded Congress to decree them census-White. And a New Mexico high-school teacher was once fired for "racism" because she told her class that New Mexico's "Spanish" had NA ancestry. Nevertheless, I suspect that the two groups are genetically similar despite their divergent self-perceptions, and it would nice to find out for sure.
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