Objective and subjective assessments of socioeconomic status and their relationship to self-rated health in an ethnically diverse sample of pregnant women

Health Psychol. 2000 Nov;19(6):613-8. doi: 10.1037//0278-6133.19.6.613.

Abstract

A new measure of subjective socioeconomic status (SES) was examined in relation to self-rated physical health in pregnant women. Except among African Americans, subjective SES was significantly related to education, household income, and occupation. Subjective SES was significantly related to self-rated health among all groups. In multiple regression analyses, subjective SES was a significant predictor of self-rated health after the effects of objective indicators were accounted for among White and Chinese American women; among African American women and Latinas, household income was the only significant predictor of self-rated health. After accounting for the effects of subjective SES on health, objective indicators made no additional contribution to explaining health among White and Chinese American women; household income continued to predict health after accounting for subjective SES among Latinas and African American women.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • California / epidemiology
  • Ethnicity / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Health Status*
  • Humans
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications / epidemiology*
  • Regression Analysis
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Self-Assessment*
  • Socioeconomic Factors