Social Stratification and Health Lifestyles in Two Systems of Health Care Delivery: A Comparison of the United States and West Germany

Cockerham, William C.; Kunz, Gerhard; Lueschen, Guenther

doi:10.2307/2137052

Cited by 34 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Other research in South Carolina determined that socioeconomic factors were not significant variables in predicting changes in health practices among government employees in a health promotion project; there were simply not enough socioeconomic differences between groups practicing good health habits (Kronenfeld, Jackson, Davis, and Blair 1988). What these studies suggest is that even though the origin of health lifestyles can be traced to the middle and upper-middle social classes in American society (Crawford 1984;Gillick 1984;Glassner 19891, they appear to be spreading across class lines in a manner similar to that suggested by Weber in his analysis of the spread of the Protestant Ethic (Cockerham, Kunz, and Lueschen 1988).…”

Section: Health Lifestylesmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…In Ohio, Harris and Guten (1979) found that practically everyone in their survey did something to protect his or her health. A series of studies in Illinois found a distinct lack of difference among races, social classes (to include cross-national comparisons with West Germans), and occupational groups in participation in health lifestyles (Abel 1991;Abel, Cockerham, Kunz, and Lueschen 1989;Cockerham, Kunz, and Lueschen 1988;Cockerham, Lueschen, Kunz, and Spaeth 1986). Although the quality of participation may vary, health lifestyles in these studies appeared widely accepted and practiced.…”

Section: Health Lifestylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Max Weber, Formal Rationality, and Health Lifestyles

Cockerham

Abel

Lüschen

1993

The Sociological Quarterly

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of formal rationality and idcas about lifestyles in general are applied to current trends in health lifestyles. The central contribution of Weber's thinking is recognition of thc dialcctical intcrplay bctwcen formal versus substantive rationality, consumption versus production, choice versus life chances, class similarities vcrsus distinctions, and self-control vcrsus conformity in shaping health lifestyles and the reality of their operationalization in the postmodern world. In a largely applied subdiscipline like medical sociology. Weber's work offers a theoretical background on which to enrich our understanding of health lifestyles and grapple with the initial theoretical challcngcs poscd by lifcstylc rcscarch.The usefulness of classic sociological theory in explaining social change in today's world has not always been apparent, despite the fact that, as Parsons (1981) observed, one can often learn something new by returning to the classics. The goal of this article is to apply Weber's theory of formal rationality--one of the major paradigms of sociological thought-and his general ideas about lifestyle to the concept of health lifestyles. This approach allows us to acquire new insights into an. important emerging feature of postmodernity, namely, the growing dominance of formal rationality in health matters.We argue that formal rationality (the purposeful calculation of the most efficient means to an end) is a more dominant aspect of health-lifestyle participation in postmodern society than substantive rationality (an orientation toward ideal values and ends). Whereas the rationality behind health lifestyles in the past tended to be more substantive (reflecting the value of health as an ideal state), it has become more formal (the most effective method for individuals to look better, enjoy increased vitality, and enhance life expectancy). What this trend signifies is that a distinctive aspect of postmodernity is greater personal control over one's health and-consistent with Ritzer and Walczak's (1988)

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Section: Health Lifestylesmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Health Lifestylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Max Weber, Formal Rationality, and Health Lifestyles

Cockerham

Abel

Lüschen

1993

The Sociological Quarterly

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“…Despite an observed improvement in dental health in Lithuanian children, numbers of Lithuanian children reporting frequent sugar consumption, brushing teeth irregularly and visiting the dentist only in cases of emergency are still high compared with the corresponding numbers from Western countries (19). It is important to emphasize that many health problems have roots in the structure of society, which cannot be addressed by individual lifestyles alone (20). Most dental health‐related, as well as general health‐related risk behaviors should be considered to be part of a broader common risk pattern (21).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing the caries decline in Lithuanian adolescents – trends in the period 1993–2001

Aleksejūnienė

Holst

Balciuniene

2004

European J Oral Sciences

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The study aimed to relate a number of factors to the numbers of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) in 12- and 15-yr-olds examined and interviewed in 1993 and 2001. A total of 1250 children in 1993 and 935 in 2001 were clinically examined and completed a detailed questionnaire on dental health-related topics. Factors were related to the DMFT count applying multiple regression analysis. From 1993 to 2001, the mean DMFT decreased approximately 30% in both age cohorts. Despite an observed improvement in dental health in Lithuanian children, the number of Lithuanian children reporting frequent sugar consumption, brushing teeth irregularly and visiting the dentist only in case of emergency was still high compared with Western countries. The DMFT values were related to the fluoride content in the drinking water, oral hygiene, residency and year of examination.

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“…Regular physical activity can be helpful in delaying development of heart disease, adult‐onset diabetes and obesity 1 . Correlation between socio‐economic status and measures of health, in particular, mortality and morbidity, has been previously reported 2,3 . Health behaviour appears to be influenced by variables such as age, 4 gender and socio‐economic status 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…1 Correlation between socio-economic status and measures of health, in particular, mortality and morbidity, has been previously reported. 2,3 Health behaviour appears to be influenced by variables such as age, 4 gender and socio-economic status. 5 Health promotion efforts of recent years have recognized that socioeconomic status and environmental factors constrain lifestyle choices and increase disease and mortality risk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of nutrition concerns and socioeconomic status with exercise habits

Rimal

2002

Int J Consumer Studies

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The purpose of this study was to examine the association between socio‐economic characteristics and individual health behaviour patterns. Specifically, we looked at how individual demographics (i.e. age, gender, race, marital status, geographic location of households), socio‐economic status (i.e. education, income, children in the households) and respondents’ nutrition concern were related to the major health behaviour (i.e. exercise). Telephone interviews were conducted to collect the data from 2880 US households. A Poisson regression model was estimated to analyse the factors influencing physical exercise habits of adults. Results showed that the key socio‐economic variables influencing the exercise habit of US population were household income, education and family composition. The direct association of nutrition concern with exercise habits implied that health and nutrition programmes should emphasize good eating habit as well as healthy lifestyle.

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Social Stratification and Health Lifestyles in Two Systems of Health Care Delivery: A Comparison of the United States and West Germany

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

Max Weber, Formal Rationality, and Health Lifestyles

Max Weber, Formal Rationality, and Health Lifestyles

Factors influencing the caries decline in Lithuanian adolescents – trends in the period 1993–2001

Association of nutrition concerns and socioeconomic status with exercise habits

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