Disaggregating ethnoracial disparities in physician trust

•Standard physician trust scales obfuscate ethnoracial differences in trust.•Blacks are less likely than Whites to trust doctor’s interpersonal competence.•Latinos are less likely than Whites to trust doctor’s interpersonal competence.•Black–Latino differences in physician trust are a function of parental nativity.

Past research yields mixed evidence regarding whether ethnoracial minorities trust physicians less than Whites. Using the 2002 and 2006 General Social Surveys, variegated ethnoracial differences in trust in physicians are identified by disaggregating a multidimensional physician trust scale. Compared to Whites, Blacks are less likely to trust the technical judgment and interpersonal competence of doctors. Latinos are less likely than Whites to trust the fiduciary ethic, technical judgment, and interpersonal competence of doctors. Black–Latino differences in physician trust are a function of ethnoracial differences in parental nativity. The ways ethnoracial hierarchies are inscribed into power-imbalanced clinical exchanges are discussed.