Socioeconomic Differentials in Health Outcomes and Health Behavior in Los Angeles

Anne Pebley, University of California at Los Angeles

This paper is an examination of health disparities and health behavior among adults and children in one of the largest urban areas in the United States, Los Angeles County, based on the new Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (LAFANS). The paper seeks to answer several questions. First, do poor neighborhoods differ from other neighborhoods in ways which may affect health outcomes? Second, how are immigrant status, ethnicity, and social class related to health outcomes and behavior? Third, are there neighborhood level differences in health outcomes by socioeconomic status, once individual socioeconomic differences are health constant? Finally, which neighborhood-level characteristics appear to mediate the relationship between individual social characteristics and health outcomes, and are these relationships causal?