The studies in this section explore associations
between socioeconomic status and health. Studies have found that people
at every socioeconomic level have worse health outcomes than do people
at a higher socioeconomic level.
Several articles indicate that a neighborhood's overall socioeconomic status
(SES) influences residents' health beyond the effects of an individual
resident's SES. Low neighborhood SES has negative effects on likelihood
of smoking, physical activity, depression, hostility, and mortality risk.
Children in lower SES neighborhoods have higher injury rates and more behavioral
and emotional difficulties.
Possible explanations for the relationship between low neighborhood SES and negative effects on health include residents' health behaviors, sense of inequality and position in the social hierarchy, psychological stress, higher crime, poor housing, lack of transportation, and greater exposure to environmental contaminants.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development conducted an unusual and important study that investigated the effects of moving from a high-poverty to a low-poverty area. Families were randomly assigned to groups that continued to get assistance to live in their current neighborhood, got vouchers that could only be used in lower-poverty neighborhoods, or got vouchers that could be used anywhere. The researchers followed the groups to study the effects of changing a person's neighborhood environment.
For families who moved to a low-poverty area, there were documented improvements that included gains in mental and physical health, increased safety, less exposure to violence, and improvements in self-reported health. The study also found, however, that families who were not required to move to low-poverty neighborhoods did not move. There may be factors related to social support, concerns about discrimination, increased commute times, ability to afford to move, or other factors that would make moves to low-poverty neighborhoods a bad option for some families.
Studies of neighborhood socioeconomic status and health suggest that programs or policies that help residents of low-income neighborhoods move to higher-income neighborhoods can improve health for the people who move, but also that there is a need to improve conditions in low-income neighborhoods for those who cannot or do not want to move.
 |
 |
 |