Family Demographic Mechanisms Linking of Socioeconomic Status to Subjective Physical Health in Rural Bangladesh

Previous literature suggests that lower socioeconomic status (SES) men through higher family sociodemographic pressure and lower capacity of stress control, compared to higher SES men, are more likely to suffer from poorer subjective physical health (SPH). Using a random cross-sectional survey of 1650 young adult men aged 20–50 from rural Bangladesh we examine whether lower SES, compared to middle and higher SES, is significantly associated with poorer SPH, after controlling for family demographic-psychological conditions. Result indicates that lower SES men with higher family sociodemographic pressure, economic hardship, family stress and lower psychological resources in comparison to middle and higher SES men are most likely to suffer from poorer SPH. Further result suggests that SES is significantly associated with both poorer and poor SPH, but when family demographic-psychological conditions are controlled, a significant association of lower education, lower job status with day-laboring and income only with poorer SPH remains constant. This association appears attributable to all family demographic-psychological mechanisms except early marriage.