Area-level Poverty and Functional Limitations: Exploring Gender-Specific Mechanisms

Abstract

Area-level socioeconomic disadvantage is an established risk factor for functional limitations. Yet, mechanisms underlying this association and whether such processes vary by gender is unknown. Guided by stress process theory, we examine whether county- and tract-level poverty rates are differentially associated with functional limitations by gender and whether secondary ecological stressors (e.g., perceived neighborhood danger and physical disorder) and individual-level psychosocial factors (e.g., coping behaviors and social support) mediate these relationships. Using data from the Midlife in the United States study, findings from the path analyses revealed that while the total effect of county-level poverty rate did not differ by gender, indirect effects via mediators—especially stress eating—were significant for women only. Tract-level poverty exhibited a gendered total effect and gendered pathways through neighborhood safety and physical activity (significant for women exclusively). This study highlights gendered processes through which area socioeconomic disadvantage may influence the aging process.