IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i16p9857-d885137.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Subjective Social Status, Area Deprivation, and Gender Differences in Health among Chinese Older People

Author

Listed:
  • Xi Chen

    (Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University, Hong Kong SAR, China
    JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Jean Woo

    (CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
    CUHK Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Ruby Yu

    (CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Gary Ka-Ki Chung

    (CUHK Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Wei Yao

    (Department of Sociology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

  • Eng-Kiong Yeoh

    (JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
    CUHK Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China)

Abstract

This study examined the gender differences in the main and interactive effects of subjective social status and area deprivation on health among older adults in Hong Kong. Data for this study came from the baseline of MrOs and MsOs studies, including 4000 Chinese men and women ≥ 65 in Hong Kong. Subjective social status was assessed using the MacArthur Scale of subjective social status scale. Our results reaffirm that subjective social status is an independent indicator of health after adjusting for objective SES measures (e.g., education and income). Perceived rank on the community ladder was more closely related to health among older people than was the society ladder, particularly for women. Although area-level social deprivation was not significantly associated with the health of older people, it may moderate the effect of subjective social status on health. Women with a lower perceived status in the community were more likely to experience depressive symptoms but better grip strength when living in more deprived neighborhoods. The findings suggested that subjective social status provides important information for the physical and mental health of the older population. Policymakers may implement interventions to enhance the subjective social status of older adults. Given the greater contribution of relative status in the community to the health of women, these policies and interventions should target to improve women’s perceived status in the community.

Suggested Citation

  • Xi Chen & Jean Woo & Ruby Yu & Gary Ka-Ki Chung & Wei Yao & Eng-Kiong Yeoh, 2022. "Subjective Social Status, Area Deprivation, and Gender Differences in Health among Chinese Older People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-14, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:9857-:d:885137
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/9857/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/9857/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jin, Lei & Tam, Tony, 2015. "Investigating the effects of temporal and interpersonal relative deprivation on health in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 26-35.
    2. Demakakos, Panayotes & Nazroo, James & Breeze, Elizabeth & Marmot, Michael, 2008. "Socioeconomic status and health: The role of subjective social status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 330-340, July.
    3. Boylan, Jennifer Morozink & Robert, Stephanie A., 2017. "Neighborhood SES is particularly important to the cardiovascular health of low SES individuals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 60-68.
    4. Johanna Lundberg & Margareta Kristenson, 2008. "Is Subjective Status Influenced by Psychosocial Factors?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(3), pages 375-390, December.
    5. Martin Siegel & Andreas Mielck & Werner Maier, 2015. "Individual Income, Area Deprivation, and Health: Do Income‐Related Health Inequalities Vary by Small Area Deprivation?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(11), pages 1523-1530, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emma Zang & Anthony R. Bardo, 2019. "Objective and Subjective Socioeconomic Status, Their Discrepancy, and Health: Evidence from East Asia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 765-794, June.
    2. Alexander Miething, 2013. "The Relevance of Objective and Subjective Social Position for Self-Rated Health: A Combined Approach for the Swedish Context," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 161-173, March.
    3. Alaimo, Leonardo Salvatore & Ivaldi, Enrico & Landi, Stefano & Maggino, Filomena, 2022. "Measuring and evaluating socio-economic inequality in small areas: An application to the urban units of the Municipality of Genoa," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    4. Eunkyung Lee & Yeosun Yoon, 2022. "Heading Up or Stuck Down Here? The Effect of Perceived Economic Mobility on Subjective Social Status and Brand Identification," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    5. Coustaury, Camille & Jeannot, Elias & Moreau, Adele & Nietge, Clotilde & Maharani, Asri & Richards, Lindsay & Präg, Patrick, 2023. "Subjective socioeconomic status and self-rated health in the English Longitudinal Study of Aging: A fixed-effects analysis☆☆We thank the anonymous reviewers of Social Science & Medicine for their help," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    6. Jerneja Farkas & Majda Pahor & Lijana Zaletel-Kragelj, 2011. "Self-rated health in different social classes of Slovenian adult population: nationwide cross-sectional study," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 56(1), pages 45-54, February.
    7. Pulok, Mohammad Habibullah & van Gool, Kees & Hall, Jane, 2020. "Horizontal inequity in the utilisation of healthcare services in Australia," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(11), pages 1263-1271.
    8. Maja Adena & Michal Myck, 2013. "Poverty and Transitions in Health," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1319, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    9. Danny Wende, 2019. "Spatial risk adjustment between health insurances: using GWR in risk adjustment models to conserve incentives for service optimisation and reduce MAUP," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(7), pages 1079-1091, September.
    10. Garbarski, Dana, 2010. "Perceived social position and health: Is there a reciprocal relationship?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 692-699, March.
    11. Fleuriet, K. Jill & Sunil, T.S., 2015. "Reproductive habitus, psychosocial health, and birth weight variation in Mexican immigrant and Mexican American women in south Texas," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 102-109.
    12. Kiyotaka Nemoto & Hiroki Oka & Hiroki Fukuda & Yoshinori Yamakawa, 2017. "MRI-based Brain Healthcare Quotients: A bridge between neural and behavioral analyses for keeping the brain healthy," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-13, October.
    13. Rosenfield, Sarah, 2012. "Triple jeopardy? Mental health at the intersection of gender, race, and class," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(11), pages 1791-1801.
    14. Johanna Cresswell-Smith & Kristian Wahlbeck & Jorid Kalseth, 2022. "Life Conditions as Mediators of Welfare State Effect on Mental Wellbeing among Oldest Old in Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-19, April.
    15. Jens Hoebel & Ulrike E Maske & Hajo Zeeb & Thomas Lampert, 2017. "Social Inequalities and Depressive Symptoms in Adults: The Role of Objective and Subjective Socioeconomic Status," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(1), pages 1-18, January.
    16. Han, Yang & Wei, Jianwen & Zhao, Yandong, 2021. "Long-term effects of housing damage on survivors’ health in rural China: Evidence from a survey 10 Years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    17. Hong Zou & Qianqian Xiong & Hongwei Xu, 2020. "Does Subjective Social Status Predict Self-Rated Health in Chinese Adults and Why?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 443-471, November.
    18. Hooper, Alison & Hustedt, Jason T. & Slicker, Gerilyn & Hallam, Rena A. & Gaviria-Loaiza, Juana & Vu, Jennifer A. & Han, Myae, 2022. "Area Deprivation Index as a predictor of economic risk and social and neighborhood perceptions among families enrolled in Early Head Start," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    19. Fubaihui Wang & Qingkai Zhen & Kaigang Li & Xu Wen, 2018. "Association of socioeconomic status and health-related behavior with elderly health in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, September.
    20. Hajat, A. & Kaufman, J.S. & Rose, K.M. & Siddiqi, A. & Thomas, J.C., 2010. "Do the wealthy have a health advantage? Cardiovascular disease risk factors and wealth," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(11), pages 1935-1942, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:9857-:d:885137. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.