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Updated: Aug 11, 2025

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Subjective social status and allostatic load among older people in England: A longitudinal analysis
Lindsay Richards1, Asri Maharani2, Patrick Präg3
1University of Oxford, Department of Sociology, 42-43 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1JD, United Kingdom.
Background:
Subjective social status has a known association with health, whereby better health outcomes are observed for those with higher perceived status. In this research, we offer new evidence on the status-health relationship using a rigorous methodological approach that considers both observed and unobserved confounders.
Methods:
We use 5 waves of data spanning 15 years from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and derive a measure of allostatic load with biomarkers as an objective measure of health. We apply 'within-between' panel regression models.
Results:
Models reveal the expected association between subjective status and health when comparing participants (the 'between' estimate), but no association when examining temporal variation within participants (the 'within' estimate). When controlling for personality traits including optimism, and parental education, the 'between' association between subjective status and allostatic load is reduced but does not disappear.
Conclusions:
Person-level confounders play some role in explaining the observed link between subjective status and health. The exact nature of the link, including the role of psychological pathways and early-life confounders, remains a question for future research.
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