Lower Socioeconomic Status Counterparts Research Articles

Quantifying the extent of climate inequality in China

Using individual-level panel data representative of Chinese residents, this study examines in detail the relationship between temperature and subjective well-being (SWB). We first find that a 1 °C increase in temperature anomalies (difference between current and historical temperature) causes a 0.02 decrease in SWB (2% of 1 S.D.). Second, we present evidence of climate inequality along socioeconomic status (SES) as SWB of better educated, and higher-income Chinese residents are less affected by temperature anomalies compared to their lower SES counterparts. Closer examination reveals that adaptation mechanisms such as ownership of air-conditioners, automobiles, and indoor work help to alleviate adverse impacts of temperature anomalies. Lastly, for better comparison, we express our findings as monetized damages. We compute that a 1 °C increase in temperature anomalies causes damages equivalent to around 6.9% of income. However, these damages are mostly driven by Chinese from the lower-SES stratum as their damages are equivalent to around 9.6% of income compared to no damages for the high-SES group. Similarly, when translated into elasticity, we find that temperature-induced damages reduce by around 2% for every 1% increase in average income.

Social inequality in alternative sanctions: A register data study on all adolescent drug offenders in Norway 2005–2015

The penal repertoire for young offenders in Europe encompasses an increasing variety of alternative sanctions. Research indicates that the availability and implementation of these sanctions vary within jurisdictions, raising issues of unequal treatment for equal offences. Among possible factors associated with intra-jurisdictional disparities in alternative sentencing outcomes is the socioeconomic status of young offenders. This study investigates the social profile of diverted youth, thereby addressing social inequalities in alternative sanctioning. Register data on all 15- to 17-year olds charged with minor drug offences in Norway between 2005 and 2015 ( N = 3209) were compared to a randomly drawn sample of non-offenders ( N = 69,201). Offenders who were diverted from a fine to a conditional waiver of prosecution, either with or without rehabilitative measures, were classified with an alternative sanction. Socioeconomic status was measured by an indicator combining register data on household income and parental education. Probit regressions with sample selection were used to identify social gradients in alternative sanctioning. By extensive register linkages, we were able to control for a range of well-known confounders such as gender, immigrant status, family composition, parental crime, and geographical centrality. We found that the probability of receiving a conditional waiver of prosecution was around 5% points higher for youth from a medium-high socioeconomic status background and 8% points higher for youth from a high socioeconomic status background compared with their low socioeconomic status counterparts. The positive social gradient pertained to sanctioning with rehabilitative elements and not to minimal interventions. Social inequality in desistance-oriented sanctions, which may consolidate pre-existing inequalities in criminal charges, is likely influenced by the resources parents have at their disposal to get involved in their children’s legal processes.

Socioeconomic Status, Ecologically Assessed Social Activities, and Daily Cortisol Among Older Urban African Americans.

Objectives: Higher socioeconomic status (SES) individuals report more social activities than their lower SES counterparts. Yet, SES and racial health disparities are often confounded. Here, we tested whether the frequency of engagement in social activities contributed to the association between SES and daily cortisol secretion among urban African American older adults. Methods: Ninety-two community-dwelling African Americans aged 55 years and older reported what they were doing at regular intervals across the day on an Android smartphone for seven consecutive days. They also provided four saliva samples at four time points a day during the same period. Results: Higher SES older adults engaged in proportionally more social activities than their lower SES counterparts. A greater relative frequency of weekly social activities was associated with a steeper diurnal cortisol decline. Higher SES was indirectly linked to a steeper cortisol decline via increased relative frequency of weekly social activities. Discussion: Our findings suggest that engagement in weekly social activities represents a behavioral intermediary for SES health disparities in endocrine function among older urban African American adults.

Which activities count? Using experimental data to understand conceptualizations of physical activity

US health surveys consistently report that men and those with higher socioeconomic status (SES) engage in more physical activity than women and lower SES counterparts, using questions that ask about physical activity during leisure time. However, social characteristics such as gender and SES shape understandings of and access to leisure-based physical activity as well as other domains where healthy activity is available – namely house work, care work, and paid work. Thus, the physical activity of US adults may look different when what counts as physical activity expands beyond leisure activity.The current study uses Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform to conduct a 2-by-2-by-2 factorial experiment that crosses three types of physical activities: leisure, house or care work, and paid work. We find that physical activity questions that prime respondents – that is, ask respondents – to consider house/care work or paid work lead to increased minutes reported of physical activity compared to not priming for physical activity, while asking about leisure is no different from having no physical activity primed. The effect on reported physical activity of priming with house/care work is stronger for women than men, demonstrating support for gendered specialization of time spent in the house and care work domain. The effects on reported physical activity of priming with house/care work and paid work are stronger for those with less education compared to more education, consistent with socioeconomic divisions in access to physical activity in house/care work and employment. This study highlights the contingence of our understanding of the physical activity of US adults on both its measurement in surveys and the social forces which shape understanding of and access to physical activity.

Childhood Inequality in China: Evidence from Recent Survey Data (2012–2014)

AbstractIn recent decades, China has transformed from a relatively egalitarian society to a highly unequal one. What are the implications of high levels of inequality for the lives of children? Drawing on two nationally representative datasets, the China Family Panel Studies and the China Education Panel Survey, we develop a comprehensive portrait of childhood inequality in post-reform China. Analyses reveal stark disparities between children from different socio-economic backgrounds in family environments and in welfare outcomes, including physical health, psychosocial health and educational performance. We argue that childhood inequality in China is driven not only by the deprivations of poverty but also by the advantages of affluence, as high socio-economic status children diverge from their middle and low socio-economic status counterparts on various family environment and child welfare measures.

Are Differences in Physical Activity across Socioeconomic Groups Associated with Choice of Physical Activity Variables to Report?

Despite being challenged in recent years, the hypothesis that individuals of higher socioeconomic status (SES) are more physically active than their lower SES counterparts is generally considered a fact. Recent reviews, however, have suggested that differences across groups might be related to which physical activity (PA) domains have been investigated. In the present review, searches for relevant studies were performed in the MEDLINE, ISI Web of Knowledge and SPORTDiscus databases. Search terms included “socioeconomic”, “socio-economic”, “socio economic” and “social class” to meet all variations of the variable “socioeconomic status” in combination with the term “physical activity”. Studies were included when applying the dimensions of intensity, frequency, type/mode, and duration in measuring PA. Fifty-six studies were included and were subsequently split into four PA domains: transport PA (TPA), occupational PA (OPA), housing PA (HPA) and leisure time PA (LTPA). It turned out that the positive relationship held only for LTPA, whereas the relationship was non-existent or even opposite for all other domains. It is concluded that the assumed positive relationship between SES and PA is mainly a relationship between LTPA and SES. It is further suggested that the PA domain should always be considered when studying said relationships.

Socioeconomic inequalities in child vaccination in low/middle-income countries: what accounts for the differences?

BackgroundSocioeconomic inequalities in child vaccination continue to be a global public health concern. This study aimed to measure and identify factors associated with socioeconomic inequalities in full immunisation coverage against...

Abstract P023: Lifetime Risk of Atrial Fibrillation by Race and Socioeconomic Status: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Background: The lifetime risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) has been previously reported in whites, but not in African Americans. Moreover, we lack current estimates of lifetime risk of AF that take into account recent trends in the incidence of this arrhythmia. Lifetime risk of AF by socioeconomic status has not been investigated before. Methods: We studied 15,343 whites and African Americans in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study who were followed for an average of 21 years (maximum 27 years). Total family income was categorized as <$25,000, $25,000-$49,999, and ≥$50,000, and education as < high school graduate, high school graduate, and at least some college. Incident AF was ascertained from study electrocardiograms, hospital discharge records, and death certificates. Lifetime risk of AF was estimated by a modified Kaplan-Meier method that accounted for the competing risk of death. Results: We identified 2760 AF cases during follow-up. Lifetime risk of AF was 36% (95% CI: 32-38%) in white men, 30% (26-32%) in white women, 21% (13-24%) in African American men, and 22% (16-25%) in African American women (Figure). Regardless of race and sex, incidence rates of AF decreased from the lowest to highest categories of income and education. In contrast, lifetime risk of AF increased in individuals with higher income and education in most sex-race groups. Cumulative incidence of AF was lower in those with higher income and education compared to their low socioeconomic status counterparts through earlier life, but was reversed after age 80. Conclusion: Lifetime risk of AF in a contemporary cohort in the United States was approximately 1 in 3 among whites and 1 in 5 among African Americans. Socioeconomic status was inversely associated with cumulative incidence of AF before the last decades of life.

Effect of Socio-Economic Status on Motor Fitness Parameters

Despite being challenged in recent years, the hypothesis that individuals of higher socioeconomic status (SES) are more physically active than their lower SES counterparts is generally considered a fact. The present paper is to study the effect of socio-economic status on motor fitness of university level players. The sample consists of 450 university level players from three universities of Udaipur. The Socio-economic scale by Kuppuswami and Aapher fitness test is used as tools of the study. The one way ANOVA was used and results indicate that there is significant effect of socio-economic status on motor fitness of university level players.

Turkish Fathers’ Utterance Complexity during the Interaction of Toy Play with Their Preschoolers

There has been little research on the contributions of paternal language to their young children. Particularly father education may influence the quantity and the quality of father-child interactions (Pancsofar & Vernon-Feagans, 2010). Focusing on the link between fathers’ socioeconomic status (SES) and their language input, this research aims to investigate how fathers’ SES influences their utterance complexity in the toy play context with their young children. Ten fathers differing in SES and their preschoolers were taped in their homes for about 15 minutes and fathers were asked to help their child during the toy play sessions. Research on fathers, though limited (Cabrera et al., 2007) has shown that father education is positively associated with children’s language development. Since very few studies have considered the possible contributions of paternal language to children’s early language development, this study examines the father-child dialogues and focuses on both fathers’ and their children’s language use. In this respect, this cross-sectional study tries to explore the father-child interactional patterns in terms of both fathers’ and their children’s utterance complexity, and reveal to what extent the linguistic contributions of fathers differentiate depending on their SES. The results indicate that SES has an important role in language use; that is, the utterances of high SES fathers and children are more complex and longer than their low SES counterparts.

Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Access to Primary Care Among People With Chronic Conditions

The purpose of this study was to examine racial and socioeconomic disparities in access to primary care among people with chronic conditions. Data for this study were taken from the household component of the 2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The analysis primarily focused on adults ≥ 18 years old. Logistic regressions were conducted among people with chronic conditions to compare primary care attributes between each minority group and their non-Hispanic white counterparts and between individuals with high, above average, or below average socioeconomic status and their low socioeconomic status counterparts, controlling for other individual factors. Racial disparities were found in having usual source of care (USC), USC provider type, and USC location. However, no disparities were found in ease of contacting or getting to USC as well as the services received. Furthermore, very limited socioeconomic disparities were found after controlling for other individual characteristics, in particular race and insurance status. More efforts need to be devoted to racial/ethnic minorities with chronic conditions to improve their access to continuous and high-quality primary care.

Trends in Thyroid Cancer Incidence in Texas from 1995 to 2008 by Socioeconomic Status and Race/Ethnicity

Thyroid cancer incidence is increasing, potentially due to enhanced diagnostic practices. However, access to healthcare may be dependent on socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity. Consequently, certain segments of the population may experience thyroid cancer overdiagnosis as a result of greater access to and use of enhanced diagnostic technology. The current study examined trends by SES in thyroid cancer incidence at the census tract level from 1995 to 2008 for the population of Texas, as well as by racial/ethnic subgroup. Joinpoint regressions were used to examine incidence trends over time by SES for the study population, and for the non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic subgroups separately. Other race/ethnicities were not adequately represented for subgroup analyses. There were 22,390 incident thyroid cancer cases (65.0% white, 6.7% black, 24.3% Hispanic, 4.1% Asian/other races; 85.9% papillary histology). The low SES group experienced a steady increase in incidence since 1995 (6.7% per year, p<0.05), whereas incidence among the high SES group has increased at a rate of 8.6% per year since 1999 (p<0.05). The joinpoint projected incidence trends for the low and high SES groups were significantly different (p=0.047). Whites experienced a steady increase in incidence over time among both high and low SES groups (7.6% per year p<0.05), whereas blacks and Hispanics of higher SES had a much more pronounced increase in incidence over time relative to their lower SES counterparts (blacks=12.8% vs. 4.1%; Hispanics=11.2% vs. 8.3%, p<0.05). For blacks and Hispanics, joinpoint projected incidence trends for the low and high SES groups were significantly different from one another (p<0.001-0.004). These results identify groups experiencing the greatest problem of increasing thyroid cancer incidence, and raise concern that greater access to healthcare may be accompanied by thyroid cancer overdiagnosis. A dual focus on delineating and preventing disease-related causal factors and focusing clinical attention on avoiding overdiagnosis among certain populations (e.g., high SES) may be advisable to address thyroid cancer in Texas. Clinicians are encouraged to adhere to ATA/NCCN guidelines when choosing patients for thyroid ultrasound, selecting which nodules to examine, and deciding which patients should proceed to biopsy.

Socioeconomic Status, Functional Recovery, and Long-Term Mortality among Patients Surviving Acute Myocardial Infarction

ObjectivesTo examine the relationship between socio-economic status (SES), functional recovery and long-term mortality following acute myocardial infarction (AMI).BackgroundThe extent to which SES mortality disparities are explained by differences in functional recovery following AMI is unclear.MethodsWe prospectively examined 1368 patients who survived at least one-year following an index AMI between 1999 and 2003 in Ontario, Canada. Each patient was linked to administrative data and followed over 9.6 years to track mortality. All patients underwent medical chart abstraction and telephone interviews following AMI to identify individual-level SES, clinical factors, processes of care (i.e., use of, and adherence, to evidence-based medications, physician visits, invasive cardiac procedures, referrals to cardiac rehabilitation), as well as changes in psychosocial stressors, quality of life, and self-reported functional capacity.ResultsAs compared with their lower SES counterparts, higher SES patients experienced greater functional recovery (1.80 ml/kg/min average increase in peak V02, P<0.001) after adjusting for all baseline clinical factors. Post-AMI functional recovery was the strongest modifiable predictor of long-term mortality (Adjusted HR for each ml/kg/min increase in functional capacity: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.87–0.94, P<0.001) irrespective of SES (P = 0.51 for interaction between SES, functional recovery, and mortality). SES-mortality associations were attenuated by 27% after adjustments for functional recovery, rendering the residual SES-mortality association no longer statistically significant (Adjusted HR: 0.84; 95% CI:0.70–1.00, P = 0.05). The effects of functional recovery on SES-mortality associations were not explained by access inequities to physician specialists or cardiac rehabilitation.ConclusionsFunctional recovery may play an important role in explaining SES-mortality gradients following AMI.

P1-523 Socioeconomic-related inequality in oral health risk behaviours among adolescents in Thailand

IntroductionAs risk behaviours, including unhealthy diet and nutrition, tobacco and alcohol consumption, relevant to non-communicable chronic diseases are common to oral disease. This study aimed to quantify the extent to...

Does the predictive power of self-rated health for subsequent mortality risk vary by socioeconomic status in the US?

The purpose of this study is to test whether the predictive power of an individual's self-rated health (SRH) on subsequent mortality risk differs by socioeconomic status (SES) in the United States. We use the National Health Interview Survey 1986-94 linked to Multiple Cause of Death Files 1986-97 (NHIS-MCD). Analyses are based on non-Hispanic Black and White adults 25 and older (n = 358,388). Cox proportional hazard models are used to estimate the effect of SRH on mortality risk during follow-up. Interactions of SRH and level of education and SRH and level of income are used to assess differences in the predictive power of SRH for subsequent mortality risk. The effect of SRH on subsequent mortality risk differs by level of education and level of income. Lower health ratings are more strongly associated with mortality for adults with higher education and/or higher income relative to their lower SES counterparts. Our findings suggest that individuals with different education or income levels may evaluate their health differently with respect to the traditional five-point SRH scale, and hence their subjective health ratings may not be directly comparable. These results have important implications for research that tries to quantify and explain socioeconomic inequalities in health based on self-rated health.

Socioeconomic differences in health among older adults in Mexico

Although the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health is well-established in Western industrialized countries, few studies have examined this association in developing countries, particularly among older cohorts. We use the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS), a nationally representative survey of Mexicans age 50 and older, to investigate the linkages between three indicators of SES (education, income, and wealth) and a set of health outcomes and behaviors in more and less urban areas of Mexico. We consider three measures of current health (self-rated health and two measures of physical functioning) and three behavioral indicators (obesity, smoking, and alcohol consumption). In urban areas, we find patterns similar to those in industrialized countries: higher SES individuals are more likely to report better health than their lower SES counterparts, regardless of the SES measure considered. In contrast, we find few significant SES–health associations in less urban areas. The results for health behaviors are generally similar between the two areas of residence. One exception is the education–obesity relationship. Our results suggest that education is a protective factor for obesity in urban areas and a risk factor in less urban areas. Contrary to patterns in the industrialized world, income is associated with higher rates of obesity, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption. We also evaluate age and sex differences in the SES–health relationship among older Mexicans. The results suggest that further economic development in Mexico may lead to a widening of socioeconomic inequalities in health. The study also provides insight into why socioeconomic gradients in health are weak among Mexican-Americans and underscores the importance of understanding health inequalities in Latin America for research on Hispanic health patterns in the US.

Family Environment as a Determinant of Adolescents' Participation in Physical Activity and Leisure Settings

Family environment plays an important role across adolescents' development and their participation in physical activity. Adolescents' participation in physical activities is influenced by expectations and beliefs held by parents. Parental encouragement as well as engagement in physical activities has a significant impact on their children's participation levels. PURPOSE: The study examined adolescents' participation in physical activity and leisure settings in relation to their families' location, social class, parental income and commitment to engagement in physical activities. METHODS: The sample comprised fifty-two sixteen year old adolescents (26 boys and 26 girls) from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Semi-structured group interviews enabled participants to explore themes related to family involvement in physical activity and leisure. Data analysis was conducted using inductive and deductive analytical procedures, which involved scanning the data for categories, developing working typologies on an examination of initial cases and then modifying and refining them on the basis of subsequent cases. RESULTS: The study identified factors such as location, financial support, encouragement and motivation as determinants of adolescents' participation in physical activities. Encouragement and motivation to engage in physical activities was evident in higher socioeconomic status (SES) families compared to their lower SES counterparts. Families with high socioeconomic status (SES) addressed adolescents' physical activity involvement as part of their everyday routines in the form of transport to sporting events and local sports club or during the weekends with a whole family approach to activity. Adolescents from low SES families suggested that parental income and parental work commitment was a barrier to their participation. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that physical activity was highly valued in families from high SES compared to lower SES families. Location and income were identified as perceived barriers to adolescents' participation in physical activity for those from lower SES groups. Future interventions aiming at increasing physical activity levels in adolescents should target factors such as cost, access, income and location to reduce inequalities in participation.

Voices of the forgotten half: The role of social class in the school-to-work transition.

This study examines the impact of social class on the school-to-work (STW) transitions of young adults in working-class occupations. Using an exploratory, qualitative research methodology, interviews were conducted with 10 men and 10 women to examine the role of social class in the STW transition. All participants were working in low-skilled jobs and grouped into 2 cohorts based on their family’s socioeconomic background: higher socioeconomic status (HSES) and lower socioeconomic status (LSES). The findings indicate that social class played an important role in the participants’ STW transition. Individuals from the HSES cohort expressed greater interest in work as a source of personal satisfaction, higher levels of self-concept crystallization, greater access to external resources, and greater levels of career adaptability compared with their LSES counterparts. I was forced into this way of life. It’s like I was forced to drop out of

Verbal Communication, Nonverbal Communication, and Private Speech in Lower and Middle Socioeconomic Status Preschool Children

Three types of communication--verbal, nonverbal, and private speech--were investigated in 4- and 5-year-old children. Multiple analyses of variance (MANOVAs) without IQ controlled and multiple analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) with IQ as a covariate were computed and followed by ANOVAs and ANCOVAs to determine the effects of sex, age, and socioeconomic status (SES) on each of these types of communication. The ANOVAs and the ANCOVAs yielded the same conclusions. Results indicated that age and SES, but not sex, influence the use of the three communication types. From age 4 to age 5, private speech decreased for middle SES children and remained the same for lower SES children. Although lower SES children had more nonverbal communication at both age levels than middle SES children, nonverbal communication decreased for middle SES children and increased for lower SES children between the ages of 4 and 5 years. Both lower and middle SES groups increased in verbal communication between the two ages. The middle SES 4-year-olds used more verbal communication than their lower SES counterparts, and the difference was maintained at age 5. Although IQ is related to verbal communication, statistically controlling for the effects of IQ did not change the conclusions.

Prediction of self-concept among learning disabled children.

This investigation explored the possibility of predicting self-concept among 147 school-verified learning disabled children on the bases of several combinations of predictor variables. Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Reading performance variables had little relationship to self-concept. The combination of Word Knowledge performance, Math performance, and family socioeconomic status (SES), however, significantly predicted self-concept. Somewhat surprisingly, learning disabled children from high SES families had lower self-concepts than their low SES counterparts. Practical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed, particularly as they relate to the potential impact of mainstreaming on the self-concept of the learning disabled child.