Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40648535›Full record

ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Sense of Mastery Explains Social Patterning of Health.

Shervin Assari, Babak Najand, Alexandra Donovan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Shervin AssariDepartment of Internal Medicine, Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5054-6250
Babak NajandMarginalization Related Diminished Returns Center, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.
Alexandra DonovanDepartment of Internal Medicine, Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocial determinants of health-including both adversity and socioeconomic position-are known to shape physical health, health-related behaviors, and overall well-being. However, the psychological mechanisms that link these determinants to diverse outcomes remain insufficiently explored across international contexts.

objectiveThe objective of this study is to test whether sense of mastery and control over one's life mediates the associations between key stressors (childhood abuse, financial insecurity) and socioeconomic resources (education, employment, and marital status) with a wide range of outcomes spanning health, behaviors, and well-being.

methodsUsing cross-sectional data from Wave 1 of the Global Flourishing Study (GFS), we analyzed responses from more than 200,000 adults in 23 countries. Predictors included exposure to childhood abuse, perceived financial insecurity, and indicators of socioeconomic position (education, employment, and marital status). Outcomes included self-rated physical and mental health, depression, anxiety, smoking, drinking, physical activity, life satisfaction, and happiness. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate both direct and indirect (mediated) effects through sense of mastery and control over life.

resultsStressors were associated with poorer health, higher engagement in risk behaviors, and lower well-being. In contrast, higher levels of education, employment, and being married were linked to more favorable outcomes. In all tested models, sense of mastery and control over life significantly mediated the effects of both stressors and socioeconomic resources on health, behaviors, and well-being outcomes.

conclusionsSense of mastery and control over life may represent key psychological pathways linking both adversity and social advantage to diverse health-related outcomes. Interventions that enhance individuals' perceived control may offer cross-cutting benefits to improve health, promote well-being, and reduce behavioral risk factors globally.

Indexed as

cross-national studyeducationemploymentfinancial insecurityhealth behaviorsmediationperceived controlsense of masterysocial determinants of healthsocioeconomic statusstructural equation modelingwell-being

Identifiers

PMID40648535
PMCPMC12248847

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.