Impact of socioeconomic status and subjective social class. Underlying socioeconomic factors influencing health. Socioeconomic status ses is a composite measure of an individuals economic and sociological standing. The impact of socioeconomic status on health psychology. Parents socioeconomic status and health literacy domains. Higher disease rates for blacks or african americans compared. There is a persistent relationship between socioeconomic status and health that appears to have its roots in childhood. These mechanisms have special theoretical importance because disparities in health behaviors, unlike. Many researchers, however, see ses indicators as interchangeable. Socioeconomic status is recorded via a multidimensional index which includes information on. Along with the impact on an individuals well being, socioeconomic status can also have an impact on communities, including rates of crime and poverty.
Measurement of socioeconomic status in the german health. Socioeconomic status, health care use, and outcomes. Based on this sociobehavioral framework of health care use, raceethnicity and socioeconomic disparities in health care use are measured by examining the association between these factors in explaining who gets care and the outcomes of care while controlling for need, health system, and environmental factors. When it is studied, only effects of lower, povertylevel ses are generally examined. Mohammed,3 jacinta leavell,4 and chiquita collins5 1department of society, human development and health, harvard school of public health, boston, ma. Socioeconomic inequalities in health and health care. Exploring the relationship between socioeconomic status and health. It is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation. Socioeconomic status and health the challenge of the gradient nancy e. Well look at how factors like poverty and unemployment are a significant cause of mental illness. Along with poor physical health, communities with low ses report more cases of depression, suicide, drug abuse, behavioral and developmental issues.
Measures of socioeconomic status can also be used in various forms of exploration. Relationships between socioeconomic status and weight. Association among socioeconomic status, health behaviors. Underlying socioeconomic factors influencing health disparities in the appalachian region page 3 mortality for leading causes of death, and 2 examine associations between rates of mortality and underlying socioeconomic conditions that may contribute to observed disparities. Socioeconomic status has long been related to health, those higher in the social hierarchy typically enjoy better health than those below. Society benefits from an increased focus on the foundations of socioeconomic inequities and efforts to reduce the deep gaps in socioeconomic status in the united states and abroad. In the guide, conceptual issues that link socioeconomic status, exposure to risk factors and health are first explained. Socioeconomic status is an important source of health inequity, as there is a very robust positive correlation between socioeconomic status and. Leonard syme socioeconomic status ses is consistently associated with health outcomes, yet little is known about the psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms that might explain. Kennedy school of government, harvard university, and a faculty research fellow of the national bureau of economic. Consistent with past research 3, 4,7,32,33, we observed that a low socioeconomic status was associated with poorer wellbeing among adolescents in wales. Education income occupation wealth less visible than some other social identities synonyms social class socioeconomic position with minor differences oairp fall 2015 indicators of socioeconomic status ses 3.
Most commonly referred to as socioeconomic status ses within the health, social, and criminological literature, the. Socioeconomic status an overview sciencedirect topics. The inverse relationships between socioeconomic status ses and unhealthy behaviors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition have been well demonstrated empirically but encompass diverse underlying causal mechanisms. Socioeconomic disparities in health in the united states. The extent to which socioeconomic advantage causes good. Apa advocates for policies that help lowincome individuals and groups gain access to needed services in order to.
These relative levels of position within the societal hierarchy may result in inequalities in health. In addition, chronic stress associated with lower ses may also inc. Socioeconomic status ses is defined as a measure of ones combined economic and social status and tends to be positively associated with better health. The link between mortality and socioeconomic status has echoed through the ages, and was graphically captured by the preston curve, which showed the relation between life expectancy and income per person at the country level. Increasing morbidity and socioeconomic health inequalities are a global problem 1, 2.
Health, united states, 1998, socioeconomic status and. Several studies examined the relationship of socioeconomic status and overweight obesity. Box 1248, ann arbor, michigan 48106, usa a bstract. This report focuses on premature mortality for several reasons. To that end, this paper examines why two sets of authors, chen et al. Socioeconomic status ses is consistently associated with health outcomes, yet little is known about the psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms that might explain this association. Another use is for socioeconomic status to be a control variable in modelling. They also receive fewer diagnostic tests and medications for many chronic. Socioeconomic differences in cigarette smoking among.
Childrens health and parental socioeconomic factors. As athletic trainers, it is essential we understand our lowincome patients generally have less access to health care. An alternative explanation for this nonsignificant interaction might lie in the socioeconomic status differential in healthcareseeking behaviour, which results in underreporting of nonfatal cardiovascular disease events in more deprived groups, whereas fatal events are less likely to be underreported because all deaths are recorded in the uk. The impact of socioeconomic status on health related. Differences in socioeconomic status ses, as assessed by income or educational achievement, are associated with large disparities in health status. Ses is important to health not only for those in poverty, but at all levels of ses.
Pdf socioeconomic status ses is consistently associated with health outcomes, yet little is known about the psychosocial and behavioral mechanisms. Inequities in health distribution, resource distribution, and quality of life are increasing in the united states and globally. Clinician perceptions of patients with low socioeconomic status ses have been shown to affect clinical decision making and health care delivery in this group. Socioeconomic status ses is known to influence childrens healthrelated quality of life.
The socioeconomic status and health chartbook, the national health interview survey nhis series 10 reports, 34 and the agency for healthcare research and quality ahrq national healthcare disparities reports 35 are notable exceptions of reports based on routine public health data in which differences are examined across 4 or 5 socioeconomic. And, the overlap between race and socioeconomic status complicates efforts to determine whether it is, race and social class or race or social class that produces disparities in health status. Williams a university of michigan, department of sociology and survey research center, institute for social research, p. L, socius, companion, oeconomicus, methodical, status, state the position of an individual on a socialeconomic scale that measures such factors as education, income, type of occupation, place of residence, and, in some populations, heritage and religion. A major aim of social epidemiology is the study of the relationship between socioeconomic status ses and health outcomes in populations, and to date it is well. Socioeconomic status, health literacy domains, shokrof preparatory school and shokrof village. Although education is the most commonly used measure of ses in epidemiological studies, no investigators in the united states have conducted an empirical analysis quantifying the relative impact of each separate dimension of ses on risk factors for disease.
Because socioeconomic status is a strong determinant of cigarette smoking 2,4, it may also influence sociodemographic disparities in cigarette smoking. In this lesson, well talk about the relationship between mental health and socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status access to collectively desired resources oakes, n. This year socioeconomic status and health was selected as the subject of the chartbook. Pdf socioeconomic status, race and copd health outcomes. Socioeconomic status ses underlies three major determinants of health.
Socioeconomic status can encompass quality of life attributes as well as the opportunities and privileges afforded to people within society. A practical, stepbystep approach is then used to assess the impact of socioeconomic status on risk factors and health, using numerical examples. States, the chartbook focuses on a major health topic. How education, income, and occupation contribute to risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Many ses indicators assess distinct dimensions of a familys position rather than measuring the same underlying construct. However, there is evidence of a graded association with health at all. Socioeconomic inequalities in a range of health risk behaviours as well as mental health and wellbeing emerge and widen throughout childhood and adolescence 3 4567. European studies have shown that low socioeconomic status, low education and low income are associated with poor health among adult populations, e. In the past 15 years, we have seen a marked increase in research on socioeconomic status ses and health. How socioeconomic status affects patient perceptions of. Socioeconomic status is the social standing or class of an individual or group. There is evidence that socioeconomic status ses affects individuals health outcomes and the health care they receive. Jensen is associate professor of public policy at the john f.
It is a complex assessment measured in a variety of ways that account for a persons work experience and economic and social position in relation to. Socioeconomic status socioeconomic status ses encompasses not just income but also educational attainment, financial security, and subjective perceptions of social status and social class. Socioeconomic status, nutrition, and health among the elderly. How socioeconomic status affects patient perceptions of health care. Not only do children in families with lower income and with mothers with lower levels of education have worse health on average than those with greater socioeconomic advantage, but also the gradient appears to steepen with age. This entry focuses on the three common measures of socioeconomic status. Few studies have assessed the extent to which cigarette smoking differs among sociodemographic groups. Understanding why a patient may not be quick to see a provider they have been referred to or fill a prescription will improve the relationship. Race, socioeconomic status, and health the added effects of racism and discrimination david r. Socioeconomic status ses is a complex construct determined by an individuals or groups relative position within a society and based on socially derived economic factors.
Research in the first part of this era examined the nature of the relationship of ses and. I include definitions, theoretical background, and empirical support for each of. Researchers usually control for ses rather than examine it. Moreover, a comparison of the marginal structural model with the conventional regression approach of adjusting for prior health status suggests that the latter may considerably overestimate the contribution of health behaviors to socioeconomic disparities in mortality by controlling for variables on the pathway between ses and mortality, thus. Complexities, ongoing challenges, and research opportunities david r. Do gradients differ within childhood and adolescence. Pdf in the past 15 years, we have seen a marked increase in research on socioeconomic status ses and health. The effect of socioeconomic deprivation on the association. Socioeconomic status can be determined by a familys income level, education level, and occupational status. In this paper we examine multiple pathways through which it can influence health, and we consider the implications of. Results of the german health interview and examination survey for adults degs1. Socioeconomic status, race and copd health outcomes. The impact of socioeconomic status on a patients health status is significant.
We focus on four dimensions of socioeconomic status education, financial resources, rank, and race and ethnicity paying particular attention to how the mechanisms linking health to each of these dimensions diverge and coincide. The primary aim of this study was to determine which measure of ses had the strongest impact on healthrelated. Socioeconomic status is one of those terms typically learned in a seventh grade social studies or civics class and then used in college term papers to subtly suggest a deep understanding of how society works, or perhaps how it should work. Racial minorities are more likely to have low socioeconomic status compared with whites. Research in the first part of this era examined the nature of the relationship of ses and health, revealing a graded association.