Working Paper #178: Gender differences in occupational position and declines in self-rated health
Abstract:
Background: To explore the relative importance of (1) health behaviours, (2) psychological resources and (3) work stress, as explanations of declines in perceived health status by occupational position.
Methods: Our initial population sample consisted of 4,483 Canadian labour force participants (2,175 female) from a longitudinal Canadian population based survey, who all reported very good or excellent perceived health status in 1994. Using a series of nested polytomous logistic regression we examined the contribution of health behaviours, psychological resources and work stress as explanations for two levels of decline in selfrated health by occupational position between 1994 and 1998.
Results: Men in lower occupational positions had greater risks of decline to good selfrated health, with the lower half of the occupational hierarchy (occupational positions III, IV and V) reporting between 116% and 137% increased likelihood of decline, after adjusting for age, health conditions, health behaviours, work stress and psychological resources in 1994. Surprisingly, a similar gradient was not present between occupational position and risk of decline in self- rated health in the female population.
Conclusions: The relationship between occupational position and level of perceived health status may not apply as equally to women as to men. Further research is needed to determine if occupational position is the best way to classify risk of decline in perceived health status in female labour force participants.
Summary:
Are people who work in particular occupational positions more likely to report declines in their health over time? What role do individual health behaviours like smoking and drinking play in such reported health declines? How important are an individual worker’s psychological resources in coping with job stress that may affect perceptions of well-being?
To answer these questions, researchers looked at survey data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey. They focused on information concerning more than 4,400 Canadians aged 18 to 64 (about half male, half female) who were employed in a range of positions within the occupational hierarchy or “ladder” - from self-employed professionals to unskilled labourers.
All those included in the study had rated themselves as being in “very good” or “excellent” health at the time of the first survey, which also asked about specific health behaviours such as alcohol use, smoking and physical activity.
The workers were surveyed again four years later and researchers identified a small number whose answers reflected a marked decline in self-rated health status.
While the study found no significant gender differences in the number of respondents who showed a decline to “good,” “fair” or “poor” self-rated health, men in the bottom half of the occupational “ladder” were twice as likely to report a decline in self-rated health as those in jobs higher up.
However, women at the top of the occupational “ladder” were just as likely to report declines in self-rated health as women in each occupational group below them.
