Family Structure and Family Climate in Relation to Health and Socioeconomic Status for Older Adults: A Longitudinal Moderated Mediation Analysis

Enrique Alonso-Perez (), Paul Gellert, Michaela Kreyenfeld and Julie Lorraine O’Sullivan
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Enrique Alonso-Perez: Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute for Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Paul Gellert: Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute for Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Michaela Kreyenfeld: Social Policy Groups, Hertie School, Friedrichstrasse 180, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Julie Lorraine O’Sullivan: Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Institute for Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: Family characteristics are associated with individuals’ health and wellbeing. However, the link between family structure (e.g., operationalized via marital status) and health outcomes is ambiguous, and whether family climate mediates the relationship is unclear. This study uses the Biobehavioral Family Model (BBFM) to investigate the association of older adults’ family structure with later health, the mediating role of family climate and mental health and how these links vary by socioeconomic status (SES). Using data from n = 29,457 respondents aged over 50 in Waves 4, 5 and 6 (2011, 2013 and 2015) of the Survey of Health, Retirement and Ageing in Europe (SHARE), the BBFM was applied in a longitudinal mediation analysis of family structure and health, including both indicators of mental and physical health. Structural equation modeling was applied, and a multigroup analysis was performed to test the role of SES in a moderated mediation. Family climate and mental health mediated the relationship between family structure and subsequent physical health. Good levels of family climate were found to be consistently associated with improved mental and physical health. These relationships were significantly moderated by SES, showing that the association of family climate and health was weaker for those in low SES positions. Family climate and mental health should be considered as potential mechanisms linking family structure to later physical health outcomes across time; however, these associations are diminished for those with low SES.

Keywords: family climate; family structure; socioeconomic status; health determinants; biopsychosocial; SHARE (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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