How does education lead to healthier behaviours? Testing the mediational roles of perceived control, health literacy and social support

Crystal L. Park · Dalnim Cho

63 citations0/0 files storedPsychology and Health

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Health disparities and outcomes Health Literacy and Information Accessibility Health and Wellbeing Research

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Educational attainment is increasingly recognised as a unique dimension of socioeconomic status (SES) and a powerful determinant of health behaviour-and thus physical health and mortality. However, very little is known about the specific pathways through which education influences these health behaviours. DESIGN: The present study used a nationally representative US survey to test three potential psychosocial pathways (perceived control, health literacy and social support) through which education might influence intake of fruits and vegetables (FV), physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB), controlling for other aspects of SES (income, health insurance status) and demographics (age, gender, race/ethnicity). RESULTS: Both aspects of perceived control (locus of control, cancer fatalism) mediated the impact of education on FV and PA while only locus of control mediated the impact of education on SB. Further, only one aspect of health literacy (ability to understand recommendations) mediated education's effect on any health behaviour (FV). Social support did not mediate any of the effects of education on health behaviors. CONCLUSION: Future work explicitly assessing and testing these mediational pathways is needed to better understand how education influences people's health behaviours throughout their lives.

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2015Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century 1994Socioeconomic status and health: The challenge of the gradient.2006Social Support and Health: A Review of Physiological Processes Potentially Underlying Links to Disease Outcomes 2011The Social Determinants of Health: Coming of Age 1994Socioeconomic status and health: The challenge of the gradient.2009Understanding differences in health behaviors by education 2010Socioeconomic Disparities in Health Behaviors 2006Education and Health: Evaluating Theories and Evidence

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