Pathways between socioeconomic status and modifiable risk factors among African American smokers.
Although socioeconomic status is a major contributing factor to health disparities, the mechanisms through which socioeconomic status influences health remain unclear. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate an a priori conceptual model of the pathways between socioeconomic status and modifiable health risk factors in a sample of 399 African Americans seeking smoking cessation treatment. A latent variable modeling approach was utilized to characterize the interrelationships among socioeconomic status, neighborhood disadvantage, social support, negative affect/perceived stress, and three specific modifiable risk factors (i.e., overweight/obesity, insufficient physical activity, at-risk drinking). Findings indicated that neighborhood disadvantage, social support, and negative affect/perceived stress function as pathways linking socioeconomic status and modifiable risk factors among African American smokers, and negative affect/perceived stress appears to play a key mediating role. Policy, community, and individual-level interventions may attenuate the impact of socioeconomic status on health by targeting intermediate psychosocial, environmental, and behavioral pathways.
Kendzor
Darla E
DE
Department of Health Disparities Research, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. dkendzor@mdanderson.org
Businelle
Michael S
MS
Mazas
Carlos A
CA
Cofta-Woerpel
Ludmila M
LM
Reitzel
Lorraine R
LR
Vidrine
Jennifer Irvin
JI
Li
Yisheng
Y
Costello
Tracy J
TJ
Cinciripini
Paul M
PM
Ahluwalia
Jasjit S
JS
Wetter
David W
DW
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000523:psychology*; D012923:Social Class; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires