Social class, socialization practices, and psychosomatic ailments in adolescents

Abstract

The relationships among social class, socialization practices, and psychosomatic ailments have been reported by several psychological and sociological studies. However, a careful review of these studies reveals some contradictory results. In addition to inadequate sample size, these studies have been carried out on children of preschool and grade school ages. We collected data from 1518 high school aged adolescents who had unbroken families and who might be regarded as products of their families' class and socialization practices. Our findings suggest definite effects of socioeconomic status on the mental health of the developing female children. The effects of some socialization practices, such as parental dominance, restrictiveness, punishment types, and warmth, on psychosomatic incidences are further examined. Implications of the present study are discussed.