Causes and Consequences of Health Self-Report Variations among Older People

Abstract

Older people's health self-reports are highly correlated with their utilization of health care services and are frequently cited in explanations for changes in social status, social participation-activity, and personal attitudes. The purposes of research reported here were threefold: 1. to review previous health self-report findings using comparable statistics and systematic categories of correlates; 2. to specify indicators of established correlates in national random sample data; and 3. to develop a path analysis model utilizing these variables as causes and consequences of health self-report variations among older people. Findings emphasize the importance of health self-concept to social participation-activity.