This paper examines the relative importance of exposure and response t
o social roles for explaining race differences in subjective well-bein
g. Data pooled from several years of General Social Survey interviews
are used to demonstrate substantial race and gender differences in the
effects of particular combinations of social roles on subjective well
-being. Further examination of these differences suggests that in addi
tion to race differences in access to role configurations that are ben
eficial for subjective well-being, there are race and gender differenc
es in the response to those configurations.