Mother-perceived social capital and children's oral health and use of dental care in the United States

H. Iida and R.G. Rozier

American Journal of Public Health, 2013, vol. 103, issue 3, 480-487

Abstract: Objectives. We examined the association between mother-perceived neighborhood social capital and oral health status and dental care use in US children. Methods. We analyzed data for 67 388 children whose mothers participated in the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health. We measured mothers' perceived social capital with a 4-item social capital index (SCI) that captures reciprocal help, support, and trust in the neighborhood. Dependent variables were motherperceived ratings of their child's oral health, unmet dental care needs, and lack of a previous-year preventive dental visit. We performed bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses for each outcome. Results. After we controlled for potential confounders, children of mothers with high (SCI = 5-7) and lower levels (SCI = 8) of social capital were 15% (P = .05) and about 40% (P ≤ .02), respectively, more likely to forgo preventive dental visits than were children of mothers with the highest social capital (SCI = 4). Mothers with the lowest SCI were 79% more likely to report unmet dental care needs for their children than were mothers with highest SCI (P = .01). Conclusions. A better understanding of social capital's effects on children's oral health risks may help address oral health disparities.

Keywords: adolescent; adult; article; child; child parent relation; cross-sectional study; demography; dental procedure; economics; educational status; female; health; human; income; infant; male; maternal age; middle aged; mother; newborn; preschool child; social class; statistical model; statistics; United States; utilization review, Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental Care for Children; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Income; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Logistic Models; Male; Maternal Age; Middle Aged; Mothers; Oral Health; Parenting; Residence Characteristics; Social Class; United States; Young Adult (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2012.300845_4

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300845

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