Investigating the social health of female heads of households and its social and demographic determinants: A case study of female heads of households in Tehran

Dorahaki, Ahmad; Mohammadkhani, Mahtab

doi:10.22054/rjsw.2025.88026.839

Investigating the social health of female heads of households and its social and demographic determinants: A case study of female heads of households in Tehran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Ahmad Dorahaki ¹

Mahtab Mohammadkhani ²

¹ Associate Professor of Demography, Department of Demography, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

² Master's degree in Demography, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i

https://doi.org/10.22054/rjsw.2025.88026.839

Abstract

In many cases, women heads of households are more vulnerable psychologically and socially than they are financially. This makes it necessary to pay attention to the health of women heads of households, especially their social health. In this regard, the present study, by selecting a sample of approximately 589 women heads of households in Tehran in a multi-stage cluster, tried to examine the social health of women heads of households and its determinants. The results indicate that the women heads of households studied are not in a desirable state in terms of social health. Among the different dimensions of social health, social integration and social acceptance have a more complicated situation in the women heads of households studied. The results of multivariate analysis showed that the social variables - including education, social support, role pressureand a sense of security in social interactions - have the greatest impact on the social health of women heads of households. In general, with the inclusion of all variables in the regression model, the variables of physical health level, social support level, education level, role pressure level, type of housing ownership, and level of feeling of economic insecurity have maintained their significance in recent years. Policy solutions arising from the research are presented in this text.

Keywords

Social health

female heads of households

social cohesion

social acceptance

Tehran city

Subjects