Department of Medical Sociology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Universitätsstrasse 1 Duesseldorf 40225, Germany.
Glob Health Promot. 2010 Jun;17(2):25-33. doi: 10.1177/1757975910365232.
Socio economic inequalities in adult health behaviour are consistently observed. Despite a well-documented pattern, social determinants of variations in health behaviour have not been sufficiently clarified. This article therefore presents sociological pathways to explain the existing inequalities in health behaviour. At a micro level, control beliefs have been part of several behavioural theories. We suggest that these beliefs might bridge the gap between sociology and psychology by emphasising their roots in fundamental socio-economic environments. At a meso level, social networks and support have not been explicitly considered as behavioural determinants. This contribution states that these social factors influence health behaviour while being unequally distributed across society. At a macro level, characteristics of the neighbourhood environment influence health behaviour of its residents above and beyond their individual background. Providing further opportunity for policy makers, it is shown that peer and school context equalise inequalities in risky behaviour in adolescence. As a conclusion, factors such as control expectations, social networks, neighbourhood characteristics, and school context should be included as strategies to improve health behaviour in socially disadvantaged people.
社会经济不平等在成年人的健康行为中普遍存在。尽管有充分的文献记载，但健康行为变化的社会决定因素仍未得到充分阐明。因此，本文提出了社会学途径来解释现有的健康行为不平等。在微观层面上，控制信念一直是几种行为理论的一部分。我们认为，这些信念可以通过强调它们在基本社会经济环境中的根源，弥合社会学和心理学之间的差距。在中观层面上，社会网络和支持并没有被明确视为行为决定因素。这一贡献指出，这些社会因素在整个社会中不平等地分布，影响着健康行为。在宏观层面上，邻里环境的特征影响着居民的健康行为，而不仅仅是他们的个人背景。为政策制定者提供了进一步的机会，表明同伴和学校环境可以使青少年的危险行为不平等现象趋于平等。总之，控制期望、社会网络、邻里特征和学校环境等因素应被纳入改善社会劣势人群健康行为的策略中。
