The mediating roles of physical exercise and social-psychological stress in the relationship between socioeconomic status and self-rated health

Xiaosheng Lei, Song He, Heng Jiang and Aijun Xu

PLOS ONE, 2026, vol. 21, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: Objectives: Although the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health is well documented, the contributions of physical exercise (PE) and social-psychological stress (SPS) to this association remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to explore the mediating roles of PE and SPS in the relationship between SES and self-rated health (SRH). Methods: This study included 1,507 participants (aged ≥ 16 years) from the Health Survey conducted in Hubei Province during the post-pandemic period of 2021. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine the mediating and interaction effects, with PE and SPS specified as mediators in the association between SES and SRH. Results: The average SES and SRH scores were 3.07 ± 1.12 and 2.93 ± 0.93, respectively. Significant pairwise correlations (p

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0345542

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0345542

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