This paper introduces and discusses regional opportunity structures as a concept for analysing the interlinkages between structural conditions in space, social inequalities, and people’s agency, with a focus on non-metropolitan areas. The concept adds value in the following ways: (1) it emphasises the regional scale as an important spatial context of access to opportunities; (2) it accounts for the complexity of the regional context, which provides a plethora of opportunities; (3) it recognises the interdependencies of regional effects and other drivers of inequality; and (4) it takes the regional level seriously as a background of the agency of a region's inhabitants.
Abstract“Tell me how much your friends earn and I’ll tell you whether you smoke, what diseases you have and how old you’re going to become!” Part of this statement should be familiar to those who are interested in the connection between social inequality and health. People of comparatively lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk of health problems and are more likely to fall ill and die earlier than those who have a higher income etc. However, the sentence does not ask about your own income, but about the income of your friends. Is this information really meaningful? Does it really make a difference to your own health which friends you have, who you surround yourself with in your everyday life and what social position these people have?
Sag mir, wie viel Deine Freunde verdienen, und ich sage Dir, ob Du rauchst, welche Krankheiten Du hast und wie alt Du werden wirst!" Ein Teil dieser Aussage dürfte für all jene, die sich für den Zusammenhang von sozialer Ungleichheit und Gesundheit interessieren, vertraut sein. Menschen mit vergleichsweise niedrigerem sozioökonomischem Status tragen höhere gesundheitliche Risiken, werden häufiger krank und sie sterben auch früher als jene, die ein höheres
• Es gibt deutliche Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Morbidität (Krankheitshäufigkeit) und der Mortalität (Sterblichkeit) zwischen Männern* 1 und Frauen*.
There are significant differences in morbidity (incidence of disease) and mortality (death rate) between men and women. By puberty, male adolescents are more likely to have health problems. During puberty, girls suffer from chronic and mental illnesses and male adolescents are more likely to suffer from acute and life-threatening diseases. Boys and men have riskier health behavior. The field of research mainly relates to the binarity of the sexes—men and women. Studies on trans and queer persons are rare in this field. Networks have a gender-specific effect on risk behavior. Women provide more and more time-consuming social support, even in case of illness. After widowhood, networks have both negative and positive effects, which are gender-specific.
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