Purpose: We sought to examine the importance of childhood circumstances, adult socioeconomic status, and material circumstances to physical and mental functioning among middle-aged women and men.
Methods: The data were collected among the employees of the City of Helsinki by mailed questionnaires from 2000 to 2002 (7148 women and 1799 men, response rate 67%). Three latent variables covering childhood circumstances, adult socioeconomic status, and material circumstances were constructed from 10 observed socioeconomic indicators. Direct and indirect effects of the latent variables on physical and mental functioning, measured by the SF-36 component summaries, were examined using structural equation modelling.
Results: Childhood circumstances were not directly associated with either physical or mental functioning but had some effect through socioeconomic status. Low socioeconomic status was associated with poor physical functioning, but mental functioning was poorer among those in higher positions. Material circumstances were associated with physical and especially with mental functioning.
Conclusions: Low socioeconomic status and material circumstances are both important for physical functioning. However, mental functioning does not necessarily follow a similar socioeconomic pattern and the results are heavily influenced by how socioeconomic position is measured.