Background: Population segmentation and risk stratification are important strategies for allocating resources in public health, health care and social care. Social exclusion, which is defined as... Show moreBackground: Population segmentation and risk stratification are important strategies for allocating resources in public health, health care and social care. Social exclusion, which is defined as the cumulation of disadvantages in social, economic, cultural and political domains, is associated with an increased risk of health problems, low agency, and as a consequence, a higher need for health and social care. The aim of this study is to test social exclusion against traditional social stratifiers to identify high-risk/high-need population segments.Methods: We used data from 33,285 adults from the 2016 Public Health Monitor of four major cities in the Netherlands. To identify at-risk populations for cardiovascular risk, cancer, low self-rated health, anxiety and depression symptoms, and low personal control, we compared relative risks (RR) and population attributable fractions (PAF) for social exclusion, which was measured with the Social Exclusion Index for Health Surveys (SEI-HS), and four traditional social stratifiers, namely, education, income, labour market position and migration background.Results: The analyses showed significant associations of social exclusion with all the health indicators and personal control. Particular strong RRs were found for anxiety and depression symptoms (7.95) and low personal control (6.36), with corresponding PAFs of 42 and 35%, respectively. Social exclusion was significantly better at identifying population segments with high anxiety and depression symptoms and low personal control than were the four traditional stratifiers, while the two approaches were similar at identifying other health problems. The combination of social exclusion with a low labour market position (19.5% of the adult population) captured 67% of the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms and 60% of the prevalence of low personal control, as well as substantial proportions of the other health indicators.Conclusions: This study shows that the SEI-HS is a powerful tool for identifying high-risk/high-need population segments in which not only ill health is concentrated, as is the case with traditional social stratifiers, but also a high prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms and low personal control are present, in addition to an accumulation of social problems. These findings have implications for health care practice, public health and social interventions in large cities. Show less
Meulen, M. van der; Steinbeis, N.A.J.; Achterberg, M.; IJzendoorn, M.H. van; Crone, E.A.M. 2018
Experiencing and observing social exclusion and inclusion, as well as prosocial behavior, are important aspects of social relationships in childhood. However, it is currently unknown to what extent... Show moreExperiencing and observing social exclusion and inclusion, as well as prosocial behavior, are important aspects of social relationships in childhood. However, it is currently unknown to what extent these processes and their neural correlates differ in heritability. We investigated influences of genetics and environment on experiencing social exclusion and compensating for social exclusion of others with the Prosocial Cyberball Game using fMRI in a twin sample (aged 7–9; N = 500). Neuroimaging analyses (N = 283) revealed that experiencing possible self-exclusion resulted in activity in inferior frontal gyrus and medial prefrontal cortex, which was influenced by genetics and unique environment. Experiencing self-inclusion was associated with activity in anterior cingulate cortex, insula and striatum, but this was not significantly explained by genetics or shared environment. We found that children show prosocial compensating behavior when observing social exclusion. Prosocial compensating behavior was associated with activity in posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus, and showed unique environmental effects or measurement error at both behavioral and neural level. Together, these findings show that in children neural activation for experiencing possible self-exclusion and self-inclusion, and for displaying prosocial compensating behavior, is accounted for by unique environmental factors and measurement error, with a small genetic effect on possible self-exclusion. Show less
Bergen, A.P.L. van; Hoff, S.J.M.; Schreurs, H.; Loon, A. van; Hemert, A.M. van 2017
