Relative deprivation of assets defined at multiple geographic scales, perceived stress and self-rated health in China.

Relative deprivation (RD) may increase psychosocial stress, which could result in poor health. We examined the associations between asset-based RD indicators, defined at multiple geographic scales (i.e., within community; within area (urban/rural) of a province; within province; and across country), and self-rated health in China. A generalized structural equation model was used to estimate both the direct association between RD and self-related health and the indirect association through psychological stress measures. Results showed that higher RD was associated with the higher odds of reporting poor or very poor health, both directly and indirectly through psychological stress. This association was observed irrespective of the geographic scale at which reference groups were defined.