TY - GEN A1 - Blume, Miriam A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Sander, Lydia A1 - Herr, Raphael A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Moor, Irene A1 - Dragano, Nico A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Iashchenko, Iryna A1 - Hövener, Claudia A1 - Wachtler, Benjamin T1 - Health Inequalities in Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review of the Mediating and Moderating Effects of Family Characteristics T2 - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health N2 - This scoping review systematically mapped evidence of the mediating and moderating effects of family characteristics on health inequalities in school-aged children and adolescents (6–18 years) in countries with developed economies in Europe and North America. We conducted a systematic scoping review following the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews recommendations. We searched the PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus databases. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts. Evidence was synthesized narratively. Of the 12,403 records initially identified, 50 articles were included in the synthesis. The included studies were conducted in the United States (n = 27), Europe (n = 18), Canada (n = 3), or in multiple countries combined (n = 2). We found that mental health was the most frequently assessed health outcome. The included studies reported that different family characteristics mediated or moderated health inequalities. Parental mental health, parenting practices, and parent-child-relationships were most frequently examined, and were found to be important mediating or moderating factors. In addition, family conflict and distress were relevant family characteristics. Future research should integrate additional health outcomes besides mental health, and attempt to integrate the complexity of families. The family characteristics identified in this review represent potential starting points for reducing health inequalities in childhood and adolescence. KW - health inequalities KW - socioeconomic position KW - health KW - health behavior KW - moderation KW - mediation KW - school-age parenting KW - parent-child relationship KW - family conflict Y1 - 2021 UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/7739 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157739 SN - 1660-4601 VL - 18 IS - 15 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Sander, Lydia A1 - Wachtler, Benjamin A1 - Blume, Miriam A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Herke, Max A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Matos Fialho, Paula Mayara A1 - Schuettig, Wiebke A1 - Tallarek, Marie A1 - Lampert, Thomas A1 - Spallek, Jacob T1 - Moderating or mediating effects of family characteristics on socioeconomic inequalities in child health in high‑income countries – a scoping review T2 - BMC Public Health N2 - Background: By explaining the development of health inequalities, eco-social theories highlight the importance of social environments that children are embedded in. The most important environment during early childhood is the family, as it profoundly influences children’s health through various characteristics. These include family processes, family structure/size, and living conditions, and are closely linked to the socioeconomic position (SEP) of the family. Although it is known that the SEP contributes to health inequalities in early childhood, the effects of family characteristics on health inequalities remain unclear. The objective of this scoping review is to synthesise existing research on the mediating and moderating effects of family characteristics on socioeconomic health inequalities (HI) during early childhood in high-income countries. Methods: This review followed the methodology of “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews”. To identify German and English scientific peer-reviewed literature published from January 1st, 2000, to December 19th, 2019, the following search term blocks were linked with the logical operator “AND”: (1) family structure/size, processes, living conditions, (2) inequalities, disparities, diversities, (3) income, education, occupation, (4) health and (5) young children. The search covered the electronic databases PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Results: The search yielded 7,089 records. After title/abstract and full-text screening, only ten peer-reviewed articles were included in the synthesis, which analysed the effects of family characteristics on HI in early childhood. Family processes (i.e., rules /descriptive norms, stress, parental screen time, parent–child conflicts) are identified to have mediating or moderating effects. While families’ living conditions (i.e., TVs in children’s bedrooms) are suggested as mediating factors, family structure/size (i.e., single parenthood, number of children in the household) appear to moderate health inequalities. Conclusion: Family characteristics contribute to health inequalities in early childhood. The results provide overall support of models of family stress and family investment. However, knowledge gaps remain regarding the role of family health literacy, regarding a wide range of children’s health outcomes (e.g., oral health, inflammation parameters, weight, and height), and the development of health inequalities over the life course starting at birth. KW - Child KW - family KW - health KW - Health status disparities KW - infant KW - Socioeconomic factors KW - Socioeconomic health inequalities Y1 - 2022 UR - https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-12603-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-12603-4 SN - 1471-2458 VL - 22 SP - 1 EP - 14 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Blume, Miriam A1 - Wachtler, Benjamin A1 - Wollgast, Lina A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Sander, Lydia A1 - Herr, Raphael A1 - Herke, Max A1 - Reuter, Marvin A1 - Novelli, Anna A1 - Hövener, Claudia T1 - Socioeconomic position and self-rated health among female and male adolescents: The role of familial determinants in explaining health inequalities. Results of the German KiGGS study T2 - PloS one N2 - Objective Although health inequalities in adolescence are well documented, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Few studies have examined the role of the family in explaining the association between the family’s socioeconomic position and adolescents’ self-rated health. The current study aimed to explore whether the association between socioeconomic position and self-rated health was mediated by familial determinants. Methods Using data from wave 2 of the”German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents” (KiGGS) (1,838 female and 1,718 male 11- to 17-year-olds), linear regression analyses were conducted to decompose the total effects of income, education, occupational status, socioeconomic position index and adolescents’ subjective social status on self-rated health into direct effects and indirect effects through familial determinants (family cohesion, parental well-being, parental stress, parenting styles, parental obesity, smoking and sporting activity). Results A significant total effect of all socioeconomic position indicators on self-rated health was found, except for income in male adolescents. In female adolescents, more than 70% of the total effects of each socioeconomic position indicator were explained by familial mediators, whereas no significant direct effects remained. The most important mediator was parental well-being, followed by family cohesion, parental smoking and sporting activity. In male adolescents, the associations between income, parental education, the socioeconomic position index and subjective social status were also mediated by familial determinants (family cohesion, parental smoking, obesity and living in a single-mother family). However, a significant direct effect of subjective social status remained. Conclusion The analysis revealed how a family’s position of socioeconomic disadvantage can lead to poorer health in adolescents through different family practices. The family appears to play an important role in explaining health inequalities, particularly in female adolescents. Reducing health inequalities in adolescence requires policy interventions (macro-level), community-based strategies (meso-level) and programs to improve parenting and family functioning (micro-level). KW - Socioeconomic position KW - self-rated health KW - adolescents KW - familial determinants KW - health inequalities Y1 - 2022 UR - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0266463 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266463 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 17 IS - 4 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Blume, Miriam A1 - Schienkiewitz, Anja A1 - Wollgast, Lina A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Sander, Lydia A1 - Spallek, Jacob A1 - Herr, Raphael A1 - Moor, Irene A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Iashchenko, Iryna A1 - Hövener, Claudia A1 - Rattay, Petra T1 - Association between socioeconomic position of the family and adolescent obesity in Germany - analysis of the mediating Role of familial determinants T2 - Journal of Obesity N2 - Background. Obesity’s negative impact on young people’s health has long been known. The family and its socioeconomic position (SEP) are key determinants in adolescent obesity. However, understanding which familial determinants explain the association remains limited. Method. The analyses are based on data from the “German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents” (KiGGS) (1,384 females and 1,332 males aged 11 to 17 years). Logistic regression models explored how familial determinants (family stress, family cohesion, parental smoking, parental sporting activity, and parental overweight) mediated the association between family SEP (parental education, occupational status, and household income) and adolescent obesity. Results. Significant total effects for the associations between family SEP in childhood and adolescent obesity were found. Splitting the total effect of the family SEP on obesity into direct and indirect effects, all direct effects turned out to be significant. However, all associations involved also indirect effects of familial determinants, except for household income for female adolescents. Parental smoking and overweight were the most relevant mediators for males and females. For male adolescents, parental sporting activity additionally mediated the association between SEP and obesity. Conclusion. A low SEP in childhood was associated with adolescent obesity. Parental health and health behaviors partly explained the association. For increasing health equality in adolescent health, the consideration of parental health behavior in the planning and implementation of health promotion programs seem to be important. Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/7903972 SN - 2090-0708 SN - 2090-0716 VL - 2024 IS - 1 PB - Wiley ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hoffmann, Stephanie A1 - Sander, Lydia A1 - Rattay, Petra A1 - Blume, Miriam A1 - Hövener, Claudia A1 - Schneider, Sven A1 - Richter, Matthias A1 - Pischke, Claudia R. A1 - Schüttig, Wiebke A1 - De Bock, Freia A1 - Spallek, Jacob T1 - Do family characteristics contribute to a socioeconomic gradient in overweight in early childhood? – Single mediation analyses of data from German preschool children T2 - Preventive Medicine Reports N2 - Children’s overweight is strongly associated with family socioeconomic position (SEP) and family characteristics (FC). There is limited research on the extent to which FC account for a socioeconomic gradient in childhood overweight. This study examined whether FC explain SEP differences in the prevalence of overweight. The study used baseline data of preschool-aged children from the German ‘PReschool INtervention Study’. The sample (n = 872, 48% girls) was recruited at kindergartens in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Data included children’s measured weight status and parents’ reports on socioeconomic indicators (e.g., school education, vocational education, income) and FC. Variables represent main determinants of overweight (nutrition: sweets consumption in front of TV, soft drink consumption, regular breakfast, child sets table; physical activity: outdoor sports; parental role model). In single mediation analyses indirect effects of SEP on overweight were analysed (OR[95%CI]). Preschool girls and boys with low parental education had higher odds for overweight than children with high parental education. Among boys, low levels of parental education contributed to the odds of overweight via indirect effects by both factors ‘sweets consumption in front of TV’ (OR = 1.31[1.05–1.59]) and ‘no sports’ (OR = 1.14[1.01–1.38]). Among girls, FC measured did not explain SEP differences in overweight. Family nutrition and parental/family physical activity contribute to inequalities in overweight among preschool boys, but not girls. Research is needed to identify FC that explain inequalities in overweight for both. KW - Child KW - Family KW - Overweight KW - Socioeconomic factors KW - Socioeconomic health inequalities Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102178 SN - 2211-3355 VL - 33 ER -