TEMPORAL AND GROUP-SPECIFIC INSTABILITY OF SELF-RATED HEALTH IN 2020
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36004/nier.es.2026.1-07Keywords:
Self-rated health, interoception, social bias, COVID-19, lockdown, MoldovaAbstract
Self-rated health (SRH) is a widely used indicator for policy evaluation due to its consistency, reliability, and ease of administration. Since the index is evaluated subjectively, there are known socio-demographic biases in the evaluation. In this article, the next step is taken, and the instability of the SRH of different socio-demographic groups is investigated. To evaluate the changes, multiple corrected Chi-squared tests were applied to the data from the 2020 Gender and Generation Survey. For exploratory purposes, uncorrected tests were also reviewed. Since the pandemic’s effects must have varied over time, temporal aspects are also taken into account. The results show that SRH was mostly stable or increased after the 2020 lockdown, depending on sex-age group. For some groups, temporal dynamics existed, but present theories cannot explain them. The changes significantly and substantially depended on the socio-demographic and socio-economic position of the individuals. Some classical inequalities (e.g., gender) were validated, but most could not explain the changes. Finally, curvilinear effects were also observed. This paper thus fills an important niche in scientific literature on SRH evaluation and SRH stability. It also gives better perspectives for its usage in policy analysis.
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