not controlled for in this table.
(Table I about here)
Tables II and III reveal that the social production model of health is considerably
different when gender is controlled. Income is positively related to self-rated health for
older women, even after controlling for all other health determinants in the model.
However, the influence of income on health is much smaller for older men. Conversely,
education is more associated with self-rated health for men than for women.
(Tables II and III about here)
Differential effects of lifestyle on health between older men and women are also
observed. First, years of daily smoking has a larger negative effect on the subjective
health assessment of older men compared to older women, while the opposite occurs for
HUI. Second, an acceptable BMI has a significant positive effect on both the subjective
and functional health of women only.
Psychosocial coefficients are even more dissimilar in magnitude and predictive
significance. Psychosocial factors are stronger determinants of health for older women.
First, social support has a beneficial effect on health for women only; however, women
who are married/living common-law have poorer health than women living alone.
Second, financial and parental stresses have a significant and negative effect on health for
elderly women only; also, the negative relationship between personal stress and health is
much stronger for women. On the other hand, relationship stress and recent life event
stressors are more significant negative predictors of health for older men. Although
environmental stress has a significant negative effect on health for all elderly individuals,
the effect is larger for men.
9
While age is used here to control for its effect on health, it is worth noting that the
influence of age on health varies by gender. Age has a larger negative effect on functional
health for women than men. Additionally, older elderly women are significantly more
likely to express poorer subjective health than younger elderly women; in contrast, there
is little difference by age in how men rate their health.
Discussion
Gender differences in exposure to social resources play a significant role in
fostering health inequalities. The gender gap in health is also influenced by differential
vulnerabilities to social forces. By focusing on gender differences in the effect of social
factors on later-life health, we shed light on the process of successful aging for men and
women.
The findings show the importance of financial resources for health maintenance
among women. Another important observed gender difference is that acceptable body
weight has a greater positive health effect for elderly women. Daily smoking also has a
larger adverse effect on physical health for older women. Proper nutrition, special
dieting, and not smoking are therefore especially important for healthy aging among
women.
It is generally assumed that social support has a positive influence on health in
later life. The data, however, show that it has a positive effect on health for elderly
women only. Interestingly, unattached women living alone have better health than their
married counterparts, which may, in part, reflect the family-related burdens placed on
many married women. The negative effect of stress on health is also generally stronger
10
for older women. A possible explanation lies in differences in how men and women react
to and/or handle stress-related problems.
While this research reveals the varied effects of gendered social forces in
determining health in later life, the findings also suggest that more research is needed on
gender-based inequalities in health in later life. Investigation is needed to identify other
factors (social and biological) affecting the health of older men and women, and gender
differences in exposure and vulnerability to them.