Self-assessment of health: how socioeconomic, functional, and emotional dimensions influence self-rated health among Italian nonagenarians

Self-Rated Health (SRH) is currently one of the most popular indicators of population health. Studies show that SRH has a strong association with physical functioning, well-being, and mortality across a variety of populations and ages. Despite its wide use, the different elements that act and intera...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quality & quantity 2024-12, Vol.58 (6), p.5257-5273
Main Authors: Strozza, Cosmo, Egidi, Viviana, Vannetti, Federica, Cecchi, Francesca, Macchi, Claudio, Pasqualetti, Patrizio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Disease
Emotions
Evaluation
Functional impairment
Health
Health status
Indirect effects
Methodology of the Social Sciences
Older people
Physical ability
Self evaluation
Social Sciences
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic status
Structural equation modeling
Very old
Well being
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Summary:Self-Rated Health (SRH) is currently one of the most popular indicators of population health. Studies show that SRH has a strong association with physical functioning, well-being, and mortality across a variety of populations and ages. Despite its wide use, the different elements that act and interact when an individual assesses their own health are still not clear. To date, only one study has focused on the process of self-assessment of health among the oldest-old individuals. The aim of this paper is to explore direct and indirect effects of socioeconomic status, presence of disease, functional health, and emotional health on the good self-assessment of health among Italian nonagenarians. By applying Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) on Mugello Study data, we find a strong direct effect of both emotional and functional health on SRH, confirming their key roles in the process of self-assessment of health among the oldest-old individuals. Furthermore, we find indirect effects of socioeconomic status, presence of disease, and functional health on SRH. This is in line with existing literature on younger adults and elderly people.
ISSN:0033-5177
1573-7845
DOI:10.1007/s11135-023-01724-6