The contribution of personal resources to physical and mental health: looking into age and gender effects

In this study, a model that specified the effects of socioeconomic and psychological resources on physical and mental health was investigated. It was hypothesized that (a) both kinds of resources would affect physical and mental health more strongly in older than in younger adults, and that (b) socioeconomic resources would exert stronger effects in men, whereas psychological resources would exert stronger effects in women. Data were collected in an Israeli national sample. Structural modeling analyses indicated that the model fit the data. A comparison of 4 groups of participants (2 age groups--18-39 and 40-84--and both genders) showed that, for men, the respective effects of socioeconomic and psychological resources on physical and mental health were strong in the older, but not in the younger, group. For women, socioeconomic resources had nonsignificant effects, whereas psychological resources had strong effects on mental health in both age groups; psychological resources also had a moderate effect on physical health in the older group. The results suggest that the contribution of personal resources to health is regulated by the joint impact of age and gender, presumably involving shifting roles and vulnerabilities of men and women across the life span.