PNS91 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-REPORTED HEALTH STATUS, PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING, AND SMOKING BEHAVIOR - A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING APPROACH

Abstract

Many studies have shown that a positive attitude or beliefs towards life are associated with health. This study aims to investigate the predictors associated with self-reported health and to exam the impact of self-reported health towards negative feelings in the general population. The data were collected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services containing 3285 adults aged 18 or older in the civilian non-institutionalized population of United States from January 25, 2017, to May 5, 2017. Three latent variables (healthy food, self-health, and negative feeling) were constructed to investigate the relationship between self-reported health and people’s negative feeling. The outcome variables are obtained by a survey questionnaire which employs Likert scales and other self-defined scales. Older people tend to have less self-reported health; while an individual has more wealth and having higher education, they tend to have higher self-reported health. With more income, people have a more positive attitude towards life, which results in better health directly and indirectly. People with higher self-reported health would result in a better attitude towards life. Age tends to have significantly negative indirect effects on psychological status. The ability to speak English also positively directly impacts self-reported health and psychological status. Education only indirectly impacts psychological status. Smoking can lead to a less healthy state and also significantly affect people’s psychological status. Smoking also indirectly affects the amount of healthy food taking. For people’s experiences with cancer, we found out that people’s cancer experiences can predict negative thoughts. Age, Income, and English-speaking ability have directly and indirectly affect negative feelings regarding the psychological status of life. Smoking status has a significant impact on self-reported health and would also indirectly affect the psychological status of life.