Abstract
Abstract Background Health inequalities in school-aged children and adolescents were repeatedly reported across Europe but less is known about the contextual and compositional factors of families that might influence and reproduce those health inequalities. In this systematic scoping review we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the available international literature on the mediating and moderating influence of the family on health inequalities in children and adolescents in Europe and North America. Methods This review follows the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews. After defining the research question a search strategy was developed in cooperation with a scientific librarian and the study protocol was registered. A search of three databases (Pubmed, Scopus, PsycINFO) was conducted to identify relevant literature in English or German published between the year 2000 and 2019. A qualitative data charting process was used to extract the relevant data. Results In total 11.838 records were identified through the multi database search (Pubmed n = 6370, PsycINFO n = 3505, Scopus n = 1963). After elimination of duplicates and records from excluded countries, 8862 abstracts were screened by two researchers independently. Different cluster of evidence of family influences on health inequalities were identified: Parental behaviors and children's obesity, parents' smoking and drinking habits and adolescents' risk behaviors, parenting style and children's common mental disorders, parental resources and children's quality of life. Conclusions There are different aspects of family's contextual and compositional characteristics on health inequalities identifiable in the international literature. These characteristics might be new targets for family-focused health promotion strategies. Key messages A systematic scoping review found different family aspects that influence health inequalities in children and adolescents. The identified family traits are promising targets for family-focused health promotion strategies to reduce health inequalities.
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