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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Life-Course Epidemiology and Social Inequalities in Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1341213

Social Environment, Health Cognition, and Health Behavior: How Individuals with Non-Fixed Employment End Up with Adverse Health Outcomes in China under the Era of VUCA?---Findings from PLS-SEM and fsQCA

Provisionally accepted
Haibin Wei Haibin Wei 1Qiaoqi Wang Qiaoqi Wang 2Jianyang Chen Jianyang Chen 3Zhenyi Liang Zhenyi Liang 3Yibo Wu Yibo Wu 4Hongye Luo Hongye Luo 5*
  • 1 Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China
  • 3 Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
  • 4 School of Public Health, Health Science Centre, Peking University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 5 Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives: This article studied the single-factor causal relationships between the social environment, health cognition, and health behavior of the individuals with non-fixed employment and their adverse health outcomes, as well as the complex causal relationships of multiple factors on these outcomes. Methods: Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) are employed. Data is collected from the results of an open questionnaire Psychology and Behavior Investigation of Chinese Residents 2021. Results: PLS-SEM analysis reveals that health risk behaviors and cognition play a mediating role in impact of the social environment on adverse health outcomes, indicating that individuals with non-fixed employment susceptible to adverse health outcomes. fsQCA analysis identifies that weak social support is a core condition leading to outcomes of depression and anxiety. there are shared configurations and causal pathways between the outcomes of physical health and depression.The study supports the social determinants theory of health and suggests that the fundamental reason for people being trapped in adverse health outcomes is the health inequality caused by social stratification, and the external shock of uncertainty in the era of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity).

    Keywords: social environment, health cognition, Health Behavior, Non-Fixed Employment, Adverse health outcomes, Mediating mechanism, configurational analysis

    Received: 20 Nov 2023; Accepted: 01 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wei, Wang, Chen, Liang, Wu and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hongye Luo, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.