Health as a Rich People’s Game through the Lens of Work and Income

Using longitudinal data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79 cohort, n ≈ 6,666), we examined two social determinants of health (SDOH)—work and income—through a life course lens, with a focus on physical and mental health at age 50 and the moderating roles of gender, race/ethnicity, and education. Our sequence analysis reveals four diverse work clusters ranging from stable standard daytime work hours to volatile work patterns (e.g., not working, working evening or night hours, or variable hours), and four income clusters ranging from upward mobility to persistent low-income patterns. Our findings from multivariate regression shows a strong income gradient in health. Moreover, high income cushions the adverse health effects of volatile work patterns, whereas low income exacerbates health harms of volatile work patterns. These adverse associations are stronger for females than for males.

Wen-Jui Han is a professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University in New York, USA. She is the Chief Editor of the International Journal of Social Welfare. Dr. Han is well-known for her cutting-edge and high-quality research that addresses issues  surrounding policies and services designed to enhance the well-being of children and families. Her work is built upon her substantive knowledge and skills obtained from multidisciplinary training in sociology, developmental psychology, economics, and public policy. Her specific research interests are in the areas of child care, parental work, child and adolescent well-being, immigrants, and public policies. Dr. Han has conducted numerous large-scale and nationally representative studies using advanced research methodology in these research fields. Her work has been published in highly-regarded peer-reviewed journals in diverse disciplines including Demography, Developmental Psychology, Public Health, Public Policy, and Social Work. Dr. Han received her Master degree in Social Welfare in 1993 from the University of California, Los Angeles and her Ph.D. in Social Work (with an emphasis on Social Policy) in 1998 from the Columbia University School of Social Work.

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