"America can be characterized as a 50-50 society, where the chance of experiencing one economic extreme versus the other is roughly 50-50," said Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and first author of the study.

Americans tend to think of poverty and affluence as "something that happens to someone else," but the study's analysis drives home the fact these events are mainstream issues.

Just more than half -- 51.1 percent -- of Americans are exposed to at least one year of poverty during adulthood, and 51 percent will experience one year of affluence. Four out of five Americans will encounter one or the other of these economic events.

"The opportunity for extreme economic failure and success appears to be a very real component of American society," said Rank, who co-authored the study with Thomas A. Hirschl, a professor at Cornell University.

While Americans in general have a solid chance of experiencing either wealth or poverty in their lifetime, the study shows that being African-American or having less than 12 years of education dramatically increases the odds that individuals will experience poverty and significantly decreases the likelihood that they will ever attain a level of affluence. For example, while nine out of 10 African-Americans in America will experience poverty during their lifetimes, only one out of eight will encounter a year of affluence.

"These findings help to explain why African-Americans have such a different perception of the American dream than do white Americans," Rank said.

Race and education largely demarcate Americans into the haves and have-nots in society.

"The U.S. has been characterized as a nation of abundant economic opportunities where affluence is within the grasp of many of its citizens, but America has also been depicted as a free-market society that provides little protection from the ravages of poverty," Rank said. "Our analysis reveals that both views of America appear accurate, with race and education being the fault lines that divide Americans into one group or another."

Contrary to popular belief, gender exerts relatively little effect on the probability of experiencing poverty or affluence, with American men and women remaining near equal odds of experiencing poverty or affluence throughout their adult lifetimes.

The study is based on a unique analysis of a series of life tables constructed from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The PSID is a nationally representative longitudinal sample of households and families interviewed annually since 1968.