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BackgroundCOVID-19 is constantly evolving, and highly populated communities consist of many different characteristics that may contribute to COVID-19 health outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to (1) quantify the relationships between county characteristics and severe and non-severe county-level health outcomes related to COVID-19. We also aimed to (2) compare these relationships across time periods where the Delta (B.1.617.2) and Omicron (B.1.1.529 and BA.1.1) variants were dominant in the U.S. MethodsWe used multiple regression to measure the strength of relationships between healthcare outcomes and county characteristics in the 50 most populous U.S. counties. ResultsWe found many different significant predictors including the proportion of a population vaccinated, median household income, population density, and the proportion of residents aged 65+, but mainly found that socioeconomic factors and the proportion of a population vaccinated play a large role in the dynamics of the spread and severity of COVID-19 in communities with high populations. DiscussionThe present study shines light on the associations between public health outcomes and county characteristics and how these relationships change throughout Delta and Omicron’s dominance. It is important to understand factors underlying COVID-19 health outcomes to prepare for future health crises.
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Familial Abuse During Childhood and Later-Life Health: Exploring the Role of Victim–Perpetrator Relationships
Abstract ObjectivesChildhood abuse has been extensively studied in relation to later-life health, yet relatively little attention has been given to understanding the nuanced dynamics across victim–perpetrator relationships. This study addresses this gap by identifying typologies of familial perpetrators of childhood abuse in a national sample and examining their associations with various health outcomes, including physical and mental health as well as substance abuse. MethodsWe used 2 waves of data from the Midlife in the US Study (n = 6,295, mean age = 46.9 at baseline). The analysis was completed in 3 stages. Using Latent Class Analysis (LCA), we identified subpopulations of victims with distinct familial perpetrator histories. With assigned LCA memberships and propensity score weighting, we investigated the extent to which specific victim–perpetrator relationships are associated with health outcomes measured at baseline and a 10-year follow-up adjusting for other early-life risks. We evaluated whether the observed associations differ across the waves. ResultsParental and sibling abuse commonly co-occur, surpassing the occurrence of single perpetrators. Although minimal health disparities are evident between sibling-only abuse and no/little abuse groups at baseline, parent-only abuse is associated with compromised health outcomes. Severe abuse from both siblings and parents is linked to the most adverse health outcomes. At the follow-up survey, the associations between familiar abuse and health outcomes weakened, particularly for substance abuse. DiscussionThis study, delving into family relationships, family violence, and health disparities, provides new evidence to augment our comprehension of the enduring link between childhood abuse and health within the family context.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2243119
- PAR ID:
- 10515547
- Editor(s):
- Kelley, Jessica A
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
- Volume:
- 79
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 1079-5014
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Childhood abuse, Family violence, Health outcomes, Life-course perspective, Victim–perpetrator relationships
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbae065
