Socioeconomic Status

The determinants of health are economic and social conditions that affect people’s health status. These influence the living and working conditions that impacts people’s everyday living condition. Factors such as the place and the environment we live in, genetics, educational level or work status and income, as well as friends and family are some of the aspects that affects our health condition. On the other hand, the people that have an access to good health care and have financial stability are less susceptible and are often less affected. (NANB, 2009)

Socioeconomic Status is where a particular person or group of people stand in regards to social class. The main measurement that determines one's socioeconomic status is level of education, occupation and income. Although it may not be considered a factor in child development, socioeconomic status can actually play a huge role in determining what kind of adolescent a child develops into. It can influence a child’s morals, self-esteem, grades and many more aspects of a child's life. Socioeconomic status can play a role in determining where a person resides, the occupation they end up getting, their education and their income as well. So, although one’s socioeconomic status is technically made up of these aspects, one can be born into a low socioeconomic status which could result in them continuing to have one throughout their life. It is a cycle that one must break in order to change the outcome. Low socioeconomic status can result in child poverty. Child poverty over the years has risen and fallen but has remained consistently apparent in America. Child poverty can have detrimental effects on developing children and adolescents. It may influence the way they are raised, taught, cared for and many more aspects of the child's life which are important for successful development. Low socioeconomic status can determine how well children and adolescents develop and the type of person they develop into, including

It is well documented that lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with worse health among adults(Adler, Boyce, Chesney, Folkman, & Syme, n.d.) and adolescents.(Finkelstein, Kubzansky, & Goodman, 2006; Goodman, 1999; Starfield B, Riley AW, Witt WP, Robertson, 2002) Objective measures of SES such as level of education, income, and occupation are the most common methodology used in health literature to describe socioeconomic-based health disparities.(Shavers VL, 2007) However, subjective social status (SSS) is also a relevant predictor of health, independent of SES. (Adler NE, Epel ES, Castellazzo G, & Ickovics, 2000; Aneshensel CS, Sucoff, 1996) Indeed, there is a small but growing body of literature about people’s perceptions of

In this case, socioeconomic factors, especially education and income, are key contributors to poor nutrition and lifestyle behaviors. Greg Critser points out studies which show that the effects of socioeconomic status on disparities are stronger than those of race and ethnicity . Regardless of which characteristic might be a stronger contributor to diet-related disparities, the significance of socioeconomic factors cannot be exaggerated. For example, level of education impacts knowledge of dietary recommendations and skills to make healthy food choices , while income influences whether a person have access to healthier foods at a price they can afford. When people move from middle to low socioeconomic status food choices shift toward cheaper, but more energy-dense foods. Low socioeconomic status leads to consuming high calorie food and avoiding physical

In general, individuals with higher socioeconomic status have better health, hence, lower mortality rate. “Individuals who occupy the lower ranks in the social and economic hierarchies… experience worse health status and higher levels of mortalities” (Palloni & Yonker, 2014, p. 15). Socioeconomic status encompasses the individual’s education, income and occupation. All of those factors can have an impact on an individual’s health. Families with higher income can provide greater quality food choices, have good healthcare, afford living in a safe

Socioeconomic status (SES) encompasses amount of income and wealth, level of educational obtainment, type of occupation. It is usually a predicator of many physical and psychological health outcomes and is linked to a variety of health problems, such as low birthweight, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. There is a well-established and researched correlation between high SES leading to better health outcomes and that lower SES results in poorer health outcomes. SES does directly affect health, but rather serves as a proxy for other determinants by establishing and maintaining inequality through differential exposures to conditions that have a more immediate impact on health (i.e. environmental exposures, behavior/lifestyle choices, stress, health care, etc.).

Lower socioeconomic status has the greatest negative impact on the individual’s health. Individuals with a lower socioeconomic status are likely to not be highly educated,

Believe it or not education has an interrelationship with marriage. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that women that are more-educated with a bachelor's degree have a greater probability of having a long-term marriage at 78% compared to women who get married right out of high school who have a 40% chance (College Ed. and Marriage. Pew Research). Divorce decreases for individuals who have a higher education, high incomes and steady jobs, a person who waits until later in life, and

Health insurance is a result of socioeconomic status that must be looked at by health care providers. Low socioeconomic status individuals usually cannot afford privatized health care insurance. If they can afford health insurance, it is commonly public insurance such as; Medicare and Medicaid. However, public health insurance is rarely accepted by physicians because privatized health insurance is more reliable. This means that less educated individuals have less access to health care based on if they carry insurance, or the type of health insurance they carry. Similarly, poorer people must travel farther than wealthier folks to get medical attention. Low SES individuals are less likely to get care until serious conditions arise because it is not of adequate access or affordability. However, low socioeconomic status areas that do have near by clinics and accept public health insurance are overcrowded. This is a major risk for the health care field because the spread of disease in an overcrowded clinic lowers the health of society. Socioeconomic status includes education levels, occupational status, and social class which all attribute to the effects of poverty, the overall health of society, health care accessibility, and health insurance affordability.

Socioeconomic status is a major determinate of health even more than race or gender. (Umberson 150) For example, when the middle class families have to work two jobs and living in a community that not safe would decrease the risk of illness. The biological reaction is a stress and this is happening “when we feel threatened or do not have control in our lives” ( 24) When individual have chronical stress all the time as the one in the people in the poor communities, the high risk of illness would be dangerous. “The accumulation of stressors or the

This essay will discuss ways in which a person’s socioeconomic class and his/her social situation can have an impact on his/her health, using examples. We believe that there is a direct link between socioeconomic/social class and health (Adler et al. 1994). I will be defining the key terms: socioeconomic and health, social class then proceed to discuss about how poverty, income, employability, environment and housing can impact on a person’s social situation and their health.

The aim of this essay is to examine the influence that socio-economic status has on an individual’s health.

Socioeconomic status is a predictive measure of health that has been widely used in the literature (Kroenke, 2008). It

People who are poorer are, in general, less able to have access to fresh, healthy vegetables and low-fat meats, causing them to rely upon cheaper, sugary carbohydrates as their main source of nutrition. They have less access to places where it is safe to exercise, and less leisure time in which to engage in healthy, active pursuits. A recent national study in the US confirmed that "body mass index (or BMI, an indicator of excess body fat) was higher every year between 1986 and 2002 among adults in the lowest income group and the lowest education group than among those in the highest income and education groups, respectively" and "wages were inversely related to BMI

A person’s socioeconomic status encompasses educational, financial, and occupational factors. The socioeconomic status of an individual is a way of measuring how hard they work in their lifespan. If a person has a low socioeconomic status, that results in low educational successes. When they don’t aim high in the educational realm, they will live in poverty. Individuals who live in poverty, usually have poor health because of mediocre jobs. Most mediocre jobs don’t offer health benefits (Work, Stress, & Health.) In the United States, there are 13.6% of the African American non-Hispanic population who are in poor health. Also from this same population there are 11.2% of these persons under age 65 who does not have health insurance (National Center for Health Statistics). This problem caused health care professionals to look at how cultural differences and socioeconomic status contributes to the access of healthcare available to the African American community.