The relationship between subjective socioeconomic status and health in adults with and without intellectual disability

BACKGROUND: This study investigated if subjective socioeconomic status (SSS) is related to self‐rated health (SRH) and objective indicators of health in people with and without intellectual disability. METHODS: Participants were 217 adults with, and 2350 adults without intellectual disability in Jersey. In the intellectual disability sample, 85 (39.2%) participants consented independently, while 132 (60.8%) participants consented through proxy procedures. The MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status was used to measure SSS. The Euro‐Qol EQ‐5D‐5L and a five‐point scale ranging from poor to excellent health were used to measure SRH. RESULTS: Higher SSS and younger age were predictors of better SRH for the proxy‐report intellectual disability group. Being employed was associated with higher EQ‐5D‐5L index values for all intellectual disability groups. CONCLUSION: As SSS was only related to SRH in the proxy intellectual disability group, further research with a larger intellectual disability sample is needed to explore its utility further.