Associations among county-level social determinants of health, child maltreatment, and emotional support on health-related quality of life in adulthood.
Published online on October 27, 2014
Abstract
[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 5(2) of Psychology of Violence (see record 2015-04307-001). Data in Table 2 were incorrectly reported in the “Obtain needed support” column for the country-level predictors unemployment rate and median income. No corrections to the text were needed. The correct data are presented in the erratum.] Objective: This study determined whether county-level social determinants of health and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) were associated with emotional support and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adulthood. This study represents the largest population-based investigation on ACE to include county-level indicators of the social ecology. Method: We used data from the 2009 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey (29,212 adults from 5 states) and the American Community Survey (2010; 304 counties). Multilevel structural equation models were employed to test direct and indirect associations between county-level social determinants of health, ACEs and indicators of adult HRQOL. Results: At the individual level, ACEs were associated with lower emotional support, and lower emotional support was associated with worse physical and mental HRQOL. Parental divorce was associated with better mental HRQOL for individuals who reported ≥2 forms of childhood maltreatment and/or negative household environments during childhood. At the county-level, low median income and high county-level unemployment were associated with low emotional support, and high median income and high unemployment were directly associated with poor physical and mental HRQOL. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that intervention efforts designed to promote positive emotional supports for adults who have experienced ACEs, particularly for those living in disadvantaged counties, may ameliorate potential health consequences during adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)