Social-Psychological Correlates of Physician Use by Economically Disadvantaged Negro Urban Residents

A longitudinal study evaluating the use of physicians was conducted using a sample of economically disadvantaged Negro urban residents. Groups differing in degree of physician contact were compared on a variety of sociopsychological measures. Initial results formed a theoretically consistent pattern and offered strong empirical support for a proposed sociopsychological model of health behavior. However, statistically controlling for age and sex had the effect of diminishing the strength of the association between use of physicians and sociopsychological measures. The need to analytically distinguish between these two sets of variables in investigations of use of facilities is emphasized.