童年社經地位、成人社經地位與自覺健康的關係

Abstract

目的：探討童年社經地位與成人社經地位，各別對成人自覺健康的影響。 方法：本研究主要利用「台灣地區社會變遷基本調查計畫第四期第一次」，選取25至64歲者為研究對象，共計1489人。其中童年社經地位的測量以父親教育程度作為指標，成人社經地位以個人教育程度、全家月收入為代表，成人健康則以身體健康與心理健康（CHQ）進行測量。 結果：成人社經地位對成人自覺健康有著較強烈的影響，但童年社經地位與成人自覺健康的關係則較微弱或無關。此外，我們亦發現成人社經地位與童年社經地位具有高度相關，且成人社經地位對健康的影響有部分會被童年社經地位所解釋。 結論：相較於童年社經地位，成人社經地位為成人健康更重要的預測因子。但童年社經地位的重要性亦不容忽視，因為它與成人社經地位的取得息息相關，將進而影響成人健康。

Objective:To examine the associations of childhood and adult socioeconomic status with self-rated health in adulthood. Methods:Data came from the Taiwan Social Change Survey (Year 1 of Cycle 4), with a national representative sample of 1489 people aged 25-64. Socioeconomic status in childhood was measured by father’s education. Adult socioeconomic status was based on participant’s education and household income. Dependant variable was self-rated health, including physical health and mental health (CHQ). Results:Self-rated health in adulthood was associated with adult socioeconomic status, but that with childhood socioeconomic status was very weak. In addition, there was a strong relationship between adult and childhood socioeconomic status, so the effects of adult socioeconomic status might be partially explained by socioeconomic status in childhood. Conclusions:Socioeconomic status in adulthood is a stronger predictor of adult health than that in childhood. However, childhood socioeconomic status is also important in its effects on adult socioeconomic status, which in turn influences adult health.