QUALITATIVE STUDY

Qualitative Study on Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Health Behaviors in Adolescence on African-Americans



Qualitative Study on Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Health Behaviors in Adolescence on African-Americans

In industrialized countries, Socioeconomic Status (SES) is related to health behaviors at all levels of the socioeconomic hierarchy in Adolescence on African-Americans. It is not simply that those in poverty experience poorer health than those with more income; even individuals well above the poverty level have poorer health than those who are relatively more affluent. At an individual level, the health burden of socioeconomic disadvantage is most acute for the very poorest. At a population level, because a far greater proportion of people are in the middle of the SES distribution than at the extremes, a substantial proportion of health effects related to socioeconomic factors are occurring to those who are not in extreme poverty. Although the association of SES and health extends up to the top of the SES hierarchy, for some health outcomes (e.g., infant mortality), the association is stronger at the bottom than at the top. Thus, while health benefits still accrue as SES improves up to the very top, the marginal benefits of higher SES may diminish at upper levels (Ford, 1997).

The Qualitative relationship of socioeconomic status and health behaviors in adolescence on African-Americans has been demonstrated with each of the main components of SES. With regard to occupation, the Whitehall studies of British civil servants found that higher occupational grade was associated with lower mortality, not only comparing the lowest-grade civil servants to the highest but also comparing midlevel civil servants to those at the highest levels. As noted above, studies of income also reveal lower mortality as income increases, although there is a steeper drop in mortality associated with increasing income among those with the least income. Benefits ...