Bound by the Care We’ve Learned to Receive: The Persistence of Adolescent Health and Dental Care Utilization Behaviors into Young Adulthood
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 26, 2019
- Creator
-
Hausler, Jennifer
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology
- Abstract
- The transition from adolescence to young adulthood, though often considered a period of newfound independence and freedom, is characterized by worsening health and decreased health and dental care utilization, especially among males. To further understand the factors that shape health and dental care utilization during young adulthood, this study examines the socioeconomic stratification of adolescent health and dental care utilization behaviors, the impact of these behaviors during adolescence on health and dental care utilization during young adulthood, and the modifying effects of gender on utilization across the transition to young adulthood. Controlling for disparate levels of access and need, I use multivariate logistic regressions to analyze data from Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. I find that lower parental educational attainment and income are significantly associated with lower odds of care during adolescence. My results also reveal the persistence of adolescent utilization behaviors into young adulthood, but gender is not related to the endurance of such behaviors. Among other theories, I integrate the life course perspective into the Behavioral Model of Health Services Use to explain my findings and make a call for improvements in social and health care policies to prevent the further stratification of health and dental care use, as well as the persistence of poor utilization behaviors into young adulthood.
- Date of publication
- April 2018
- Keyword
- young adulthood
- logistic regression
- adolescence
- Add Health
- health behaviors
- gender disparity
- fundamental cause theory
- behavioral model of adolescent to adult health
- life course perspective
- quantitative analysis
- health care utilization
- social stratification
- dental care utilization
- socioeconomic status
- persistence of behaviors
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Advisor
- Hummer, Robert
- Degree
- Bachelor of Arts
- Academic concentration
- Sociology
- Honors level
- Honors
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2018
- Language
- English
Relations
- Parents:
This work has no parents.
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