Higher Social Class Backgrounds Research Articles

Sleep as a mediator of the relationship between social class and health in higher education students.

A substantial body of research indicates that higher education students from lower social class backgrounds tend to have poorer health than those from higher social class backgrounds. To investigate sleep as a potential mediator of this relationship, online survey responses of students from five large Australian universities, one Irish university and one large Australian technical college were analysed in three studies (Study 1 N=628; Study 2 N=376; Study 3 N=446). The results revealed that sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep disturbances, pre-sleep worries and sleep schedule variability mediated the relationship between social class and physical and mental health. Sleep remained a significant mediator when controlling for related variables and other mediators. Thus, the findings suggest that sleep partly explains social class differences in health. We discuss the importance of addressing sleep issues among students from lower social class backgrounds.

Believe to achieve? Understanding how social class background impacts the effects of achievement striving on propensity to negotiate

PurposeNegotiation is important for career success. Therefore, this study draws from social expectancy and self-regulation theories to develop a model proposing that social class background (SCB) influences the ease with which achievement striving translates into propensity to negotiate. Specifically, the authors examine how SCB moderates the relationship between achievement striving and negotiation propensity via a key mediator—status-based identity uncertainty—reflective of one's (un)certainty about their societal standing.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected data across three surveys over a four-week period from 460 participants. The authors assessed negotiation propensity by asking participants to rank-order behavioral reactions, representative of different degrees of negotiation engagement, in response to three scenarios.FindingsThe positive effects of achievement striving on negotiation propensity are attenuated for individuals with lower SCBs, in part, because achievement-oriented individuals with lower SCBs experience a heightened sense of status-based identity uncertainty. Although achievement striving is an asset for initiating negotiations, it appears to disproportionately benefit those with higher SCBs.Originality/valueIndividuals higher in achievement striving and with lower SCBs may approach the negotiation process differently than those with higher SCBs. This dynamic serves as another mechanism through which cumulative (dis)advantage processes in career success may occur over time.

Educational inequality and state-sponsored elite education: the case of the Dutch gymnasium

ABSTRACT In this paper the authors examine the role the Dutch gymnasium continues to play in the institutional maintenance of educational inequality. To that end they examine the relational and spatial features of state-sponsored elite education in the Dutch system: the unique identity the gymnasium seeks to cultivate; its value to its consumers; its geographic significance; and its market position amidst a growing array of other selective forms of schooling. They argue that there is a strong correlation between a higher social class background and the concern to transmit one’s cultural habitus. They further speculate on the moral implications of state-sponsored elite education, both as it concerns the specific role of the gymnasium in the reproduction of social inequality as well as the curious tendency among its supporters to rationalise the necessity of its existence.

Understanding the mobility chances of children from working‐class backgrounds in Britain: How important are cognitive ability and locus of control?

Research in social stratification has shown that children from working-class backgrounds tend to obtain substantially lower levels of educational attainment and lower labor market positions than children from higher social class backgrounds. However, we still know relatively little about the micro-level processes that account for this empirical regularity. Our study examines the roles of two individual-level characteristics-cognitive ability and locus of control-in mediating the effect of individuals' parental class background on their educational attainment and social class position in Britain. We find that cognitive ability mediates only about 35% of the total parental class effect on educational attainment and only about 20% of the total parental class effect on respondents' social class position, net of their educational attainment. These findings contradict existing claims that differences in the life chances of children from different social class backgrounds are largely due to differences in cognitive ability. Moreover, we find that although individuals' locus of control plays some role in mediating the parental class effect, its role is substantially smaller than the mediating role of cognitive ability. We measure individuals' social class positions at different points in their careers-at labor market entry and at occupational maturity-and find that the mediating roles of cognitive ability and locus of control are remarkably stable across individuals' working lives.

Is the End of Educational Hypergamy the End of Status Hypergamy? Evidence from Sweden

AbstractThe reversal of the gender gap in higher education has been a major social transformation: women now outnumber men in higher education in nearly all OECD countries. Patterns of assortative mating have also changed as highly educated women increasingly form relationships with men who have less education (hypogamous unions). In this article, we draw on rich register data from Sweden to ask whether the emergence of hypogamous unions signals the emergence of a new female status dominance in unions. We also consider how the status distribution in these unions compares to homogamous (both highly educated) or hypergamous (he highly educated) unions. We use Swedish register data and study couples who have their first child together. We refer to a multi-dimensional view of status and use indicators of social class background, income, and occupational prestige. We find that in hypogamous unions, women tend to have a higher social class background and occupational prestige, but lower income than their partners. The income gap between partners is not simply a consequence of the gender wage gap, but driven by selection into different union types. Men and women who form hypogamous unions are negatively selected in terms of their income.

Left behind? Over-time change in the social mobility of children from unskilled working-class backgrounds in Germany

Research on intergenerational social mobility tends to focus on examining the level of overall social fluidity in society. However, from a social justice perspective it can be argued that the type of social fluidity that matters most is upward mobility from the lowest rung of the social ladder. This article examines the labour market chances of children from parents in unskilled working-class positions, relative to children from skilled working-class and higher social class backgrounds, and how they have changed across four birth cohorts in post-WWII Germany. We find that individuals from unskilled working-class backgrounds have substantially lower labour market chances than individuals from skilled working-class backgrounds or higher social class backgrounds. Moreover, we find that the gap in labour market chances between individuals from unskilled working-class backgrounds and individuals from more advantaged backgrounds has not narrowed but, if anything, has widened across the four birth cohorts we examine. Our results suggest that an important factor underlying this sustained labour market inequality is a persistently high level of educational inequality between these groups.

Long-term relationships between adolescent intense work and deviance: Are there differences by social class?

Abstract An abundance of research has examined relationships between work and delinquency in adolescence, yet few have considered if adolescent work is associated with long-term deviant outcomes. This is unfortunate as work may constitute an early exit of adolescence and lead youth down deviant pathways by limiting the development of social and human capital in school and family domains. This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) (N = 3749) to examine relationships between intense adolescent work and several deviant outcomes in adulthood using logistic regression. This study also incorporates interactions to test for moderation by social class. Results find that those who consistently worked intense hours in adolescence report more binge drinking in young adulthood than others, and that this relationship is weaker for those from higher social class backgrounds.

Pathways to Work

This research examines variation in the relationships between college expectations, planfulness, and intense adolescent work by socioeconomic factors using data from Add Health ( n = 8,836). Results show that higher college expectations are related to higher odds of intense school-year work among lower social class youth, but lower odds of intense work among youth from higher social class backgrounds. Moreover, planful adolescents are more likely to work intensely during the school year among youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods, but less likely to work intensely among those from advantaged neighborhoods. Results also show less variability in these relationships when considering summer work.

Gender-Dysphoric Children and Adolescents: A Comparative Analysis of Demographic Characteristics and Behavioral Problems

This study compared 358 children (mean age, 7.2 years) and 72 adolescents (mean age, 15.8 years) referred clinically for problems in their gender identity development with regard to demographic characteristics, behavioral problems, as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and peer relations. Compared with the adolescent sample, the child sample had a greater proportion of males, had a higher mean IQ, was more likely to come from a higher social class background, was more likely to be living with both of their parents, was more likely to be Caucasian, was more likely to be born in Canada, and was more likely to speak English as a first language. The adolescent sample showed significantly more general behavioral disturbance on the CBCL than did the child sample although both age groups had, on average, mean scores that fell within the clinical range. The adolescent sample also had significantly poorer peer relations than the child sample, as judged by a three-item Peer Relations Scale derived from the CBCL. The differences in CBCL psychopathology generally remained significant even when controlling for the differences in demographics. The strongest predictor of CBCL psychopathology was that of the Peer Relations Scale. The role of both poor peer relations and the demographic variables in accounting for the CBCL psycho- pathology and with regard to gender identity differentiation is discussed.

Gender-Dysphoric Children and Adolescents: A Comparative Analysis of Demographic Characteristics and Behavioral Problems

This study compared 358 children (mean age, 7.2 years) and 72 adolescents (mean age, 15.8 years) referred clinically for problems in their gender identity development with regard to demographic characteristics, behavioral problems, as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and peer relations. Compared with the adolescent sample, the child sample had a greater proportion of males, had a higher mean IQ, was more likely to come from a higher social class background, was more likely to be living with both of their parents, was more likely to be Caucasian, was more likely to be born in Canada, and was more likely to speak English as a first language. The adolescent sample showed significantly more general behavioral disturbance on the CBCL than did the child sample although both age groups had, on average, mean scores that fell within the clinical range. The adolescent sample also had significantly poorer peer relations than the child sample, as judged by a three-item Peer Relations Scale derived from the CBCL. The differences in CBCL psychopathology generally remained significant even when controlling for the differences in demographics. The strongest predictor of CBCL psychopathology was that of the Peer Relations Scale. The role of both poor peer relations and the demographic variables in accounting for the CBCL psycho- pathology and with regard to gender identity differentiation is discussed.

Social background of minority ethnic applicants to medicine and dentistry.

To explore ethnic variations in social background of successful applicants to undergraduate United Kingdom medical and dental schools. Retrospective analyses of University and College Admissions Services data on all students to commence study in pre-clinical medicine and dentistry, during the academic years 1994/5, 1995/6 and 1996/7. Analyses were undertaken for two categories of social class, namely higher (professional and intermediate) and lower (skilled non-manual, skilled manual, partly skilled, and unskilled) social class. Over 15 thousand students were accepted to study medicine and dentistry during the three-year study period, of which 80% were from high social class backgrounds. More medical (80.9%) students were from high social class backgrounds than dental (73.3%) students (OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.39, 1.70). Social class differences were observed, with a greater proportion of higher social class students amongst the white students than amongst the minority ethnic students (OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.30, 1.55). This was more marked in dentistry (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.22, 1.79) than in medicine (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.22, 1.49). More students from higher social class backgrounds were observed in medicine than in dentistry amongst the black (OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 0.59, 4.00), Indian (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.58, 2.62) and white (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.26, 1.64) groups. Significant inter-ethnic differences are observed in the social background of students entering medicine and dentistry. Dentistry accepted a greater proportion of students from lower social class backgrounds and from black and minority ethnic groups.

The effect of characteristics of human service workers on subsequent morale and turnover.

The authors examine the relationship of sociopsychological characteristics of human services workers to their subsequent morale and continuance on the job. Eighty-two intensive case managers (half of them social workers) who had caseloads of clients with severe mental disorders were invited to participate in a four-wave panel study. Explored are the relationships between 16 predictors (general background, prior work experience and training, and social psychological variables) and worker outcomes (beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and turnover). The major finding was that better personal well-being at the time of hiring was the most consistent and significant predictor of lower burnout, higher job satisfaction, and generally higher worker morale at later points in time. Those from higher social class backgrounds and those with lower starting salaries were more likely to leave the job. Those workers with more experience had a tendency to perceive greater client improvement.

The relationship between social class and attitude towards Christianity among 10 and 11 yr old children

This study examines the relationship between social class and attitude towards Christianity among a sample of 5288 10 and 11 yr old children attending state maintained schools in England. Careful statistical analyses indicate that the apparent lack of relationship between social class and attitude towards Christianity disguises two significant but contradictory patterns of influence. On the one hand, parents in higher social class occupations attend church more frequently and take their children with them. Church attendance tends to promote more positive attitudes to Christianity. On the other hand, children from lower social class backgrounds appear to espouse more conservative social attitudes which tend to promote more positive attitudes towards Christianity. Thus, after controlling for differences in parental church attendance, children from lower social class backgrounds tend to hold more positive attitudes towards Christianity than children from higher social class backgrounds.

Use of pre‐school daycare and education 1979–86

SUMMARY. Using General Household Survey data, this paper considers attendance by children under five at public and private services providing non‐parental daycare and education in 1986 and compares it with 1979. Attendance of children under five rose from 32 per cent in 1979 to 42 per cent in 1986. The services included are primary schools, nursery schools and classes, playgroups, day nurseries and child minders. Playgroups are most used for two and three year olds and schools for four year olds with the majority of children attending on apart time basis. Children from higher social class backgrounds are more likely to receive care and/or education with 50 per cent of such children using pre‐school services, as compared to 3 7 per cent of children with fathers in manual occupations

What Do Introductory Sociology Students Know and When Do They Know It? The Results of Pretesting Students

Ways in which both instructors and students can benefit from the administration of a pretest in introductory sociology courses are described. Among other benefits, instructors are able to assess the amount of learning that occurs during the course and students are able to get a practical illustration of course content and testing format. Research results from three introductory sociology classes which used pretests at two different types of schools are presented. Students with higher g.p.a.'s, students with more years of college completed, and students from higher social class backgrounds score better on pretests. High school sociology coursework and prior college coursework in the social sciences do not improve pretest scores. Pretest scores, as well as college g.p.a., predict overall grades for the course. Students who learn more in a course, judging firom their improvement on their pretest grade, do not report significantly greater satisfaction with the course.

Social Class and School Knowledge

When Max Weber and Karl Marx suggested that there were identifiable and socially meaningful differences in the educational knowledge made available to literati and peasant, aristocrat and laborer, they were of course discussing earlier societies. Recent scholarship in political economy and sociology of knowledge has also argued, however, that in advanced industrial societies such as Canada and the USA, where the class structure is relatively fluid, students of different social class backgrounds are still likely to be exposed to qualitatively different types of educational knowledge. Students from higher social class backgrounds may be exposed to legal, medical, or managerial knowledge, for example, while those of the working classes may be offered a more “practical” curriculum (e.g., clerical knowledge, vocational training) (Bowles & Gintis, 1976; Karabel, 1972; Rosenbaum, 1976). It is said that such social class differences in secondary and postsecondary education are a conserving force in modern societies, an important aspect of the reproduction of unequal class structures (Apple, 1979; Karabel & Halsey, 1977; Young & Whitty, 1977).

Analyses of Student Demonstrators Involved in the Overthrow of the Greek Military Dictatorship

Data collected in a survey of Greek college students were reanalyzed to compare personality, attitudes, and social class scores of students at colleges which did and did not instigate demonstrations and riots during the 1973 overthrow of the military dictatorship. Results indicate that at colleges where demonstrations occurred, males had higher needs for affiliation and lower needs for achievement and order than males at other colleges. Demonstrators indicated general dissatisfaction with many aspects of their university programs and came from higher social class backgrounds than students who did not demonstrate. Results are briefly compared with analyses of student demonstrators in the United States.

Occupational Choices of Sydney Teenagers: Relationships with Sex, Social Class, Grade Level and Parent Expectations

Occupational choices were studied for a cross-section of 876 Sydney students in Years 6–12. Clear sex differences in occupational choice were observed confirming results of overseas studies. Girls chose different types of jobs from boys, and confined themselves to a more restricted range of jobs. While job decisiveness was found to increase with grade level, it was apparent that particular choice points in the course of schooling ( viz. years 10 and 12 at high school, and year 6 before entry to high school) also influence extent of decisiveness. Occupational choice was further found to be related to social class. Adolescents from lower social class backgrounds tended to choose jobs requiring less further education and of a lower status, while adolescents from higher social class backgrounds chose jobs requiring more further education and higher in status. The results were interpreted as illustrating how particular socialization processes relating to social class and sex operate to narrow what is regarded as an acceptable occupation.

Persistence in Engineering and Technical Institute Programs: A Study of Some Nonintellective Concomitants

This study identifies certain personal attributes and personality factors and variables which might provide a valid pattern of factors characteristic of engineering and technical institute dropouts. The subjects utilized were 134 freshman students at Oklahoma State University. Of this group, 50 were engineering freshmen, and 84 were technical institute freshmen. Those who satisfactorily completed their freshman year of study and returned for their sophomore year of study were considered nondropouts; while those discontinuing their program before their sophomore year were considered dropouts. Data gathered on the subjects included a measure of social attitudes, social values, scholastic aptitude, and a social class grouping. Findings and conclusions were that engineering freshmen (1) came from significantly higher social class backgrounds than technical institute students, (2) had significantly higher scholastic aptitudes, (3) were more theoretically oriented, and (4) were more motivated to achieve than technical institute freshmen. The technician group had a significantly greater need for nurturance than the engineering group. There was no significant difference between the needs of engineering dropouts and technical institute dropouts. The combined dropout group had a significantly higher need for affiliation and nurturance than the nondropouts. The nondropouts had significantly higher economic needs orientation than the dropouts.