Self-rated health of university students in Germany–The importance of material, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the parental socio-economic status
IntroductionHealth inequalities start early in life. The time of young adulthood, between late teens and early twenties, is especially interesting in this regard. This time of emerging adulthood, the transition from being a child to becoming an adult, is characterized by the detachment from parents...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1075142/full |
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| author | Christian Deindl Katharina Diehl Jacob Spallek Matthias Richter Wiebke Schüttig Petra Rattay Nico Dragano Claudia R. Pischke |
| author_facet | Christian Deindl Katharina Diehl Jacob Spallek Matthias Richter Wiebke Schüttig Petra Rattay Nico Dragano Claudia R. Pischke |
| author_sort | Christian Deindl |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionHealth inequalities start early in life. The time of young adulthood, between late teens and early twenties, is especially interesting in this regard. This time of emerging adulthood, the transition from being a child to becoming an adult, is characterized by the detachment from parents and establishing of an own independent life. From a health inequality perspective, the question about the importance of the socio-economic background of parents is important. University students are an especially interesting group. Many students come from a privileged background and the question of health inequality among university students has not yet been properly studied.MethodsBased on the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we analyzed health inequalities among 9,000 students in Germany (∅ 20 years in the first year of their studies) over a period of 8 years.ResultsWe found that most university students (92%) in Germany reported a good and very good health. Yet, we still found substantial health inequalities. Students whose parents had a higher occupational status reported less health problems. Additionally, we observed that health inequalities had indirect impact on health via health behavior, psychosocial resources, and material conditions.DiscussionWe believe our study is an important contribution to the understudied subject of students' health. We see the impact of social inequality on health among such a privileged group like university students as an important sign of the importance of health inequality. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T16:05:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c0d5ef0b00d845b1b173cc4b7d902b32 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T16:05:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-c0d5ef0b00d845b1b173cc4b7d902b322023-02-10T05:35:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-02-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.10751421075142Self-rated health of university students in Germany–The importance of material, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the parental socio-economic statusChristian Deindl0Katharina Diehl1Jacob Spallek2Matthias Richter3Wiebke Schüttig4Petra Rattay5Nico Dragano6Claudia R. Pischke7Department of Social Sciences, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, GermanyDepartment of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Chair of Epidemiology and Public Health, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, GermanyDepartment of Public Health, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Senftenberg, GermanyDepartment of Sport and Health Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Munich, GermanyDepartment of Sport and Health Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Munich, GermanyDepartment of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, GermanyInstitute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society, University Hospital and Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, GermanyInstitute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society, University Hospital and Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, GermanyIntroductionHealth inequalities start early in life. The time of young adulthood, between late teens and early twenties, is especially interesting in this regard. This time of emerging adulthood, the transition from being a child to becoming an adult, is characterized by the detachment from parents and establishing of an own independent life. From a health inequality perspective, the question about the importance of the socio-economic background of parents is important. University students are an especially interesting group. Many students come from a privileged background and the question of health inequality among university students has not yet been properly studied.MethodsBased on the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we analyzed health inequalities among 9,000 students in Germany (∅ 20 years in the first year of their studies) over a period of 8 years.ResultsWe found that most university students (92%) in Germany reported a good and very good health. Yet, we still found substantial health inequalities. Students whose parents had a higher occupational status reported less health problems. Additionally, we observed that health inequalities had indirect impact on health via health behavior, psychosocial resources, and material conditions.DiscussionWe believe our study is an important contribution to the understudied subject of students' health. We see the impact of social inequality on health among such a privileged group like university students as an important sign of the importance of health inequality.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1075142/fullstudentshealthuniversityinequalityNational Educational Panel Study |
| spellingShingle | Christian Deindl Katharina Diehl Jacob Spallek Matthias Richter Wiebke Schüttig Petra Rattay Nico Dragano Claudia R. Pischke Self-rated health of university students in Germany–The importance of material, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the parental socio-economic status Frontiers in Public Health students health university inequality National Educational Panel Study |
| title | Self-rated health of university students in Germany–The importance of material, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the parental socio-economic status |
| title_full | Self-rated health of university students in Germany–The importance of material, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the parental socio-economic status |
| title_fullStr | Self-rated health of university students in Germany–The importance of material, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the parental socio-economic status |
| title_full_unstemmed | Self-rated health of university students in Germany–The importance of material, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the parental socio-economic status |
| title_short | Self-rated health of university students in Germany–The importance of material, psychosocial, and behavioral factors and the parental socio-economic status |
| title_sort | self rated health of university students in germany the importance of material psychosocial and behavioral factors and the parental socio economic status |
| topic | students health university inequality National Educational Panel Study |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1075142/full |
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