Community-level socioeconomic status effects on adult health

Do the socioeconomic characteristics of a community affect one's health? This research examines whether the socioeconomic characteristics of communities are associated with the health of community residents, over and above the socioeconomic characteristics of individual residents and their families. This is the first study to examine the independent associations between community-level socioeconomic status (SES) and individual-level health using a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. Results indicate that a person's health is associated with SES characteristics of the community over and above one's own income, education, and assets. However, individual-level and family-level SES indicators are stronger predictors of health than community-level SES indicators. This research suggests that improving individual-level and family-level socioeconomic circumstances may be the more direct way to improve the health of individuals, but that understanding the community context in which a person lives may also ultimately, be important to improving health.