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Self-assessment of health: an exploration of the effects of physical and psychological symptoms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Joanna Murray ,
Graham Dunn  and
Alex Tarnopolsky
Joanna Murray*
Affiliation:
General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Graham Dunn
Affiliation:
General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Alex Tarnopolsky
Affiliation:
General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Miss J. Murray, General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF.
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Synopsis

The clinician has no objective criteria of good health; he is likely to identify its presence only in the absence of disease and dysfunction. Yet the layman is able to give a global assessment of his own health as good, average or poor. The present paper explores the correlates of self-assessment of health in a large community sample and, by the use of two linear models, describes the effects of age, sex, reported symptoms, and long-standing illness on self-rated health status. It is suggested that global ratings are influenced by age and sex and by the experience of both physical and psychological symptoms, and that there are no interactive effects between symptoms and the demographic variables.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , May 1982 , pp. 371 - 378
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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