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Socio-economic Status and Self-Rated Health Among Older Canadians

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

John Cairney
John Cairney
Affiliation:
Brock University
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Abstract

Although previous research has examined the various correlates of self-rated health, little attention has been paid to how position in the social structure influences this important measure of health. Drawing upon the social structure and personality perspective, I examine whether the relationship between socio-economic status (income adequacy and education) and self-rated health is mediated by financial stress, self-esteem, mastery, social support, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity, using data from the 1994 National Population Health Survey. Results show that almost one-third of the relationship can be explained by the mediating effect of these variables. Income adequacy and education, however, remain significantly related to self-rated health net of these variables. Further research with a broader array of variables related to social position is required to specify the mechanisms connecting socio-economic status and perceived health.

Résumé

Bien que des recherches aient déjà examiné les différents facteurs de l'auto-évaluation de la santé, on a accordé peu d'attention à l'influence de la position sociale sur cette importante mesure de la santé. À même la structure sociale et la perspective de la personnalité, on a voulu savoir si la relation entre la situation socio-économique (revenu adéquat et instruction) et l'auto-évaluation de la santé était touchée par le stress financier, l'estime et la maîtrise de soi, l'appui social, le tabac, l'alcool et l'activité physique; on s'est servi de données de l'Enquête nationale sur la santé de la population de 1994. Les résultats indiquent qu'environ le tiers de la relation s'explique par l'effet de ces variables. Par contre, le revenu adéquat et l'instruction demeurent étroitement reliés à l'auto-évaluation de la santé en excluant les autres variables. Il faudra pousser la recherche en augmentant le nombre des variables reliées à la position sociale si l'on veut préciser les mécanismes qui relient la situation socio-économique et la perception du degré de santé.

Keywords

Socio-economic StatusSelf-Rated HealthOlder Persons.Situation socio-économiqueauto-évaluation de la santéaîné(e)s.
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 19 , Issue 4 , Hiver/Winter 2000 , pp. 456 - 478
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2000

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