Patterns of Socioeconomic Inequality in Adolescent Health Differ According to the Measure of Socioeconomic Position

Frank J. Elgar (), Britt McKinnon, Torbjørn Torsheim, Christina Warrer Schnohr, Joanna Mazur, Franco Cavallo and Candace Currie
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Frank J. Elgar: McGill University
Britt McKinnon: McGill University
Torbjørn Torsheim: University of Bergen
Christina Warrer Schnohr: University of Copenhagen
Joanna Mazur: Institute of Mother and Child
Franco Cavallo: University of Torino
Candace Currie: University of St. Andrews

Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, 2016, vol. 127, issue 3, No 14, 1169-1180

Abstract: Abstract Socioeconomic differences in health are ubiquitous across age groups, cultures, and health domains. However, variation in the size and pattern of health inequalities appears to relate to the measure of socioeconomic position (SEP) applied. Little attention has been paid to these differences in adolescents and their implications for health surveillance and policy. We examined health inequalities in 1371 adolescents in seven European countries using four measures of SEP: youth-reported material assets and subjective social status and parent-reported material assets and household income. For each SEP variable, we estimated risk ratios, risk differences, concentration curves, and concentration indices of inequality for fair/poor self-rated health and low life satisfaction. Results showed that inequalities in health and life satisfaction were largest when subjective social status was used as the SEP variable. Moreover, health inequalities defined by subjective social status did not change after differences in assets and income were statistically controlled. Although material assets yielded similar health inequalities as household income, the results suggest that subjective and objective SEP relate differently to adolescent health and are not equivalent indicators of the same construct. In addition, possible bidirectional effects on health and wellbeing may inflate health inequalities defined by subjective social status. These results indicate that SEP differences in adolescent health are relate more closely to psychosocial processes than to material inequality.

Keywords: Subjective social status; Socioeconomic status; Health inequality; Adolescents; Family affluence scale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-0994-6

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