Abstract
Social class gradients have been explored in adults and children, but not extensively during adolescence. The first objective of this study was to examine the association between adolescent risk behaviors and a new indicator of adolescent relative social position, adolescent “perceived social mobility.” Second, it investigated potential underlying demographic, socioeconomic, and psychosocial determinants of this indicator. Data were taken from the 2004 urban adolescent module of Oportunidades, a cross-sectional study of Mexican adolescents living in poverty. Perceived social mobility was calculated for each subject by taking the difference between their rankings on two 10-rung ladder scales that measured (1) projected future social status and (2) current subjective social status within Mexican society. Adolescents with higher perceived social mobility were significantly less likely to report alcohol consumption, drinking with repercussions, compensated sex, police detainment, physical fighting, consumption of junk food or soda, or watching ≥4 h of television during the last viewing. They were significantly more likely to report exercising during the past week and using a condom during last sexual intercourse. These associations remained significant with the inclusion of covariates, including parental education and household expenditures. Multiple logistic regression analyses show higher perceived social mobility to be associated with staying in school longer and having higher perceived control. The present study provides evidence for the usefulness of perceived social mobility as an indicator for understanding the social gradient in health during adolescence. This research suggests the possibility of implementing policies and interventions that provide adolescents with real reasons to be hopeful about their trajectories.
Highlights
Social Gradient in Health During Adolescence There is substantial evidence of a social gradient in many measures of physical and mental health among adults [1, 2] and young children [3, 4]
Anticipated Mobility and Risk Behaviors Upward social mobility was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of drinking (p = 0.008), drinking with repercussions (p = 0.004), engaging in compensated sex (p = 0.002), being detained by the police (p = 0.002), getting into physical
Our study demonstrates that perceived social mobility is significantly associated with multiple risk behaviors within the context of Mexican society, providing evidence for the usefulness of this new indicator in informing our understanding of the social gradient in health
Summary
Social Gradient in Health During Adolescence There is substantial evidence of a social gradient in many measures of physical and mental health among adults [1, 2] and young children [3, 4]. Less is known about the associations between social position and health during adolescence, generally defined as individuals. Assessment of subjective status has provided evidence for negative social gradients in health during adolescence for some physical, psychological, and behavioral health indicators, including overweight/obesity [8, 9], self-rated health [10], depressive symptoms [9, 11], and substance use [12, 13]. While household and parental indicators of SES may be useful proxies for the social status of infants and younger children, they may be less appropriate in assessing adolescent social position and social and economic resources; adolescents may already have attained a different social position than that of their parents, such as a different educational attainment level or occupational grade [13]. It is possible that adolescent social status may be influenced by the socioeconomic status of the family of origin and current status, and by projections of a potential future socioeconomic trajectory [15], yet no studies to date have examined the associations between adolescent perceived class identify and health
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