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Socioeconomic status and health status: A study of males in the Canada health survey

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  • Hay, David Ian

Abstract

The relationships between education/occupation/income and health status have been well documented in the international epidemiological and sociological literature for many years, however, specific studies on the subject are scarce in Canada. Even when relationships have been demonstrated, the reasons for these relationships are much debated. This study presents an analysis of the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health status. The study is based on analysis of data from a sample of nearly 2000 male principal income earners from the 1978 Canada Health Survey. Firstly, is there a relationship between an individual's SES and health status in Canada? Secondly, what aspects of SES--education, occupational status, and/or income--are most important? Thirdly, what are the possible explanations of the observed relationship? That is, is it possible to disaggregate the relationship and thereby infer possible causal mechanisms? The findings indicated a direct positive relationship between SES and health status, i.e. the higher an individual's SES, the better that person's health. The major exception to this was the SES/fitness relationship. In this instance, the higher the SES, the lower the level of fitness. Though age was an important control variable as SES, fitness and illness are age related, the findings relating SES to the health measures remained even when age was controlled for. Of the three SES measures, income was consistently the best correlate of health status. Occupational status showed the most inconsistent relationships with health status. The findings supported both the social causation and social selection hypotheses. That is, social position can have an effect on health status (social causation), while health status can affect one's social position (social selection).

Suggested Citation

  • Hay, David Ian, 1988. "Socioeconomic status and health status: A study of males in the Canada health survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 1317-1325, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:27:y:1988:i:12:p:1317-1325
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    Cited by:

    1. Veenstra, Gerry & Vanzella-Yang, Adam, 2022. "Interactions between parental and personal socioeconomic resources and self-rated health: Adjudicating between the resource substitution and resource multiplication theories," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    2. Deanna L. Williamson & Janet E. Fast, 1998. "Poverty Status, Health Behaviours, and Health: Implications for Social Assistance and Health Care Policy," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 24(1), pages 1-25, March.
    3. Kelly Bedard & John Dorland & Allan W. Gregory & Mark Rosenberg, 1999. "Standardized Mortality Ratios and Canadian Health-Care Funding," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 25(1), pages 47-64, March.
    4. Nina Rautio & Hannu Kautiainen & Hannu Koponen & Pekka Mäntyselkä & Markku Timonen & Leo Niskanen & Timo Saaristo & Heikki Oksa & Markku Peltonen & Hannu Puolijoki & Mauno Vanhala & Sirkka Keinänen, 2013. "Financial satisfaction and its relationship to depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults: Results from the FIN-D2D survey," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 59(3), pages 239-246, May.
    5. Zachary Zimmer & Heidi Hanson & Ken Smith, 2016. "Childhood socioeconomic status, adult socioeconomic status, and old-age health trajectories," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(10), pages 285-320.
    6. Steven Prus, 2007. "Age, SES, and Health: A Population Level Analysis of Health Inequalities over the Life Course," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 181, McMaster University.
    7. Steven G. Prus, 2003. "A Life-course Perspective on the Relationship between Socio-economic Status and Health: Testing the Divergence Hypothesis," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 91, McMaster University.

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