Dimensions of social inequality in the health of women in England: occupational, material and behavioural pathways

This paper examines the role of behavioural and psychosocial risk and prote ctive factors in explaining social inequalities in the general self-assesse d health of women. Using path analysis, data from the Health Survey for Eng land (1993) are used to demonstrate how different dimensions of social posi tion (working conditions, general social advantage and material deprivation ) have distinct pathways to ill-health. Smoking, diet, alcohol consumption, exercise, social support and job strain were all related to poorer health, but not always in the predicted direction. The effects of social position on health were not fully mediated through these risk and protective factors . Each dimension of social position had unique pathways to ill-health via o ther unidentified mechanisms. Furthermore. the salience of the three dimens ions of social position differed according to the level of labour market at tachment. Different path models are required to fit the data for women at h ome or in full-time or part-time work. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All r ights reserved.