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Until Death Do Us Part. The Influence of Own and Partner’s Socioeconomic Status on the Health of Spanish Middle-Aged Population

Author

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  • Jordi Gumà

    (Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
    Sociodemography Research Group (DEMOSOC), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Jeroen Spijker

    (Centre for Demographic Studies, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain)

Abstract

Objectives: To explore whether the influence of a partner’s socioeconomic status (SES) on health has an additive or a combined effect with the ego’s SES. Methods: With data on 4533 middle-aged (30–59) different-sex couples from the 2012 Spanish sample of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey, we apply separate sex-specific logistic regression models to calculate predicted probabilities of having less than good self-perceived health according to individual and partner’s characteristics separately and combined. Results: Both approaches led to similar results: Having a partner with better SES reduces the probabilities of not having good health. However, the combined approach is more precise in disentangling SES effects. For instance, having a higher educated partner only benefits health among Spanish low-educated men, while men’s health is worse if they have a working spouse. Conversely, women’s health is positively influenced if at least one couple member is economically active. Conclusions: There are significant health differences between individuals according to their own and their partner’s SES in an apparently advantageous population group (i.e., individuals living with a partner). The combinative approach permits obtaining more precise couple-specific SES profiles.

Suggested Citation

  • Jordi Gumà & Jeroen Spijker, 2020. "Until Death Do Us Part. The Influence of Own and Partner’s Socioeconomic Status on the Health of Spanish Middle-Aged Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-11, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:13:p:4644-:d:377349
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    Cited by:

    1. Jordi Gumà-Lao, 2022. "The Influence of Economic Factors on the Relationship between Partnership Status and Health: A Gender Approach to the Spanish Case," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-12, March.

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