Williams Valerie F, Smith Alexandria A, Villanti Andrea C, Rath Jessica M, Hair Elizabeth C, Cantrell Jennifer, Teplitskaya Lyubov, Vallone Donna M
Evaluation Science & Research at Truth Initiative, Washington, District of Columbia (Mss Williams, Smith, and Teplitskaya and Drs Villanti, Rath, Hair, Cantrell, and Vallone); Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at Truth Initiative, Washington, District of Columbia (Drs Villanti and Vallone); Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Drs Villanti, Rath, Hair, and Cantrell); and College of Global Public Health, New York University, New York (Dr Vallone).
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2017 Sep/Oct;23(5):487-495. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000468.
Young adulthood is an important period for preventing the establishment of negative health behaviors that can influence trajectories to chronic disease and early death. Given the evolving nature of educational attainment and income variation during this developmental period, identifying indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) remains a challenge. This study examines measures of subjective and objective indicators of SES to predict health risk for young adults.
This study uses data from the Truth Initiative Young Adult Cohort Study from respondents aged 18 to 34 years who completed 3 consecutive surveys between June 2011 and August 2012 (n = 2182). Analyses were conducted to compare a measure of subjective financial situation (SFS) to commonly used SES measures for adults and adolescents. Age-stratified, multivariable logistic regression was used to model the relationship between 5 SES indicators (SFS, household income, respondent education, parental education, and subjective childhood financial situation) and dichotomized versions of 3 health status measures (body mass index, self-reported health status, and quality of life), controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and region.
Findings indicate that SFS is associated with other commonly used SES measures. Prospective associations with health outcomes revealed that SFS is a stronger predictor of health outcomes among young adults aged 18 to 24 years as compared with other SES measures.
This study provides evidence that subjective financial situation may be more robust than traditional SES indicators in predicting health outcomes among young adults, particularly for 18- to 24-year-olds, and should be considered a viable candidate measure for assessing SES among this age group.
青年期是预防形成可能影响慢性病发展轨迹和过早死亡的不良健康行为的重要时期。鉴于这一发育阶段教育程度和收入差异的不断变化，确定社会经济地位（SES）指标仍然是一项挑战。本研究考察SES主观和客观指标的测量方法，以预测青年的健康风险。
本研究使用来自“真相倡议”青年队列研究的数据，该研究的受访者年龄在18至34岁之间，于2011年6月至2012年8月期间连续完成了3次调查（n = 2182）。进行分析以比较主观财务状况（SFS）的测量方法与成人和青少年常用的SES测量方法。采用年龄分层的多变量逻辑回归模型，对5个SES指标（SFS、家庭收入、受访者教育程度、父母教育程度和童年主观财务状况）与3种健康状况测量方法（体重指数、自我报告的健康状况和生活质量）的二分版本之间的关系进行建模，同时控制性别、种族/族裔和地区。
研究结果表明，SFS与其他常用的SES测量方法相关。与健康结果的前瞻性关联显示，与其他SES测量方法相比，SFS是18至24岁青年健康结果的更强预测指标。
本研究提供的证据表明，在预测青年尤其是18至24岁青年的健康结果方面，主观财务状况可能比传统的SES指标更具稳健性，应被视为评估该年龄组SES的一个可行的候选测量方法。
