Description
The purpose of this study was to assess the association between marital status and self-rated health (SRH) of adults in the United States using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2007-2008. The relationship can be understood through the marital resource model, which states that those who are married gain benefits that never-married, widowed and divorced do not, such as social, economic, and psychological resources that promote health and extend longevity, leading to greater SRH ratings. Since social norms have shifted over the years, where alternatives to marriage have increased and stigmatism towards divorced and never-married have decreased, it was of interest to assess whether marital status still has a dominant influence on SRH. Moreover, this study found it of value to explore other variables that are known to affect SRH (such as gender, age, race, education, employment status, insurance status, BMI, smoker status, and household food insecurity) to determine which factors impact SRH the most. It was hypothesized that marital status will influence SRH, that those who are married would have higher SRH than those who are divorced, widowed and separated, and that the never-married would have similar SRH as married persons. Through multinomial logistic regression, the hypotheses were supported, however, marital status was found to have a minimal effect on SRH compared to other variables in the model. Age, employment status, educational achievements, smoking status, and body mass index had the greatest influences on SRH. In particular, those who were in their forties, fifties, and sixties years of age, who were retired or unemployed, who have less than a college graduate degree, and who were overweight, obese, current smokers and past smokers are found to have the worst SRH ratings compared to their counterparts. It is imperative for public health professionals to focus their attention on these sub-populations to improve the SRH in the United States.
