Comparing self-reported and O*NET-based assessments of job control as predictors of self-rated health for non-Hispanic whites and racial/ethnic minorities

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database has been used as a valuable source of occupational exposure information. Although good agreement between O*NET and self-reported measures has been reported, little attention has been paid to O*NET’s utility in racially/ethnically diverse samples. Because O*NET offers job-level information, if different racial groups have different experiences under the same job title, O*NET measure would introduce systematic measurement error. Using the General Social Survey data (n = 7,041; 437 occupations), we compared self-report and O*NET-derived measures of job control in their associations with self-rated health (SRH) for non-Hispanic whites and racial/ethnic minorities. The correlation between self-report and O*NET job control measures were moderate for all gender-race groups (Pearson’s r = .26 - .40). However, the logistic regression analysis showed that the association between O*NET job control and SRH was markedly weaker for racial/ethnic minorities than for non-Hispanic whites. The self-reported job control was associated with SRH in similar magnitudes for both groups, which precluded the possibility that job control was relevant only for non-Hispanic whites. O*NET may not capture job experience for racial/ethnic minorities, and thus its utility depends on the racial/ethnic composition of the sample.