Subjective and objective socieoeconomic status and the impact on overall variance in clinical outcomes

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThe current investigation examined objective and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) measures on mental health outcomes with a counselling population.MethodMeasures of SES included education level, income, savings, health care, perceived SES, perceived financial security and economic positioning. Two hierarchical regression models assessed objective and subjective SES measures with clinical outcomes using the OQ‐45.2.ResultsThe results of the preliminary study indicate that subjective SES is a better predictor of mental health outcomes than objective SES.ConclusionsMore exploration of subjective SES as a predictor in counselling outcome research is needed.