Perceived Control Over Mortality Risk and Health Disparities

This project investigates persistent health inequalities in affluent societies, focusing on the psychological mechanisms and environmental factors that shape health-related decision-making across socioeconomic groups. Despite universal healthcare coverage and extensive public health initiatives, significant disparities in health behaviours and outcomes persist along socioeconomic lines. 

The project draws on the Uncontrollable Mortality Risk Hypothesis to examine how perceptions of control over mortality risk influence health investment decisions. The hypothesis suggests that individuals who perceive their mortality risk as less controllable may be less motivated to invest in long-term health. 

The thesis employs a mixed-methods approach. First, quantitative studies in the UK examine how perceived uncontrollable mortality risk mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and health behaviours. This particularly explores family mortality history as a potential cue informing risk perceptions. Second, qualitative interviews explore how individuals across the socioeconomic spectrum construct their perceptions of control over health outcomes, illuminating how different forms of capital - economic, social, and cultural - shape both health agency and healthcare engagement. The qualitative phase particularly examines how experiences with healthcare systems, family medical histories, and broader life circumstances influence perceived control over health outcomes.

This research aims to advance both theoretical understanding and practical interventions by examining how perceptions of control over health are formed and maintained across socioeconomic groups. The findings can inform the design of health promotion strategies that address not just individual behaviours but also the broader social and institutional contexts that shape health-related perceptions and decisions. This understanding may help develop more effective approaches to reducing health inequalities by considering how structural factors influence individual health decisions through both material and psychosocial pathways.