Role Of Subjective Social Status Research Articles

The mediating role of subjective social status in the association between objective socioeconomic status and mental health status: evidence from Iranian national data.

Low socioeconomic status (SES) is identified as a pivotal risk factor for mental health. Objective socioeconomic status (OSS) is measured by tangible resources, whereas subjective social status (SSS) reflects an individual's perception of their OSS. A paucity of literature exists that elucidates the specific psychosocial mechanisms or pathways linking OSS with mental illness via SSS. This research aimed to explore the mediating role of SSS in the OSS-mental health association, utilizing data from the Iranian Mental Health Survey (IranMHS). This study is a secondary analysis of data from IranMHS, a national survey conducted in 2011 through face-to-face interviews with 7,886 Iranian adults aged 15-64. As part of the original survey, the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was randomly administered to half of these participants. We focused our analysis on data from 3,759 participants who completed all items of the GHQ-28. OSS was evaluated using education, occupation, wealth, and a combined OSS index, while SSS was measured using the MacArthur Scale. We examined how SSS mediates the associations between OSS factors and GHQ scores, including its four dimensions-somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression- while adjusting for demographic variables and conducting gender-stratified analyses. Among the 3759 respondents, 2157 (57.4%) were women, 2110 (56.1%) lived in urban areas, with an average age of 33.1 years (SD=12.1). SSS mediated the associations between wealth and the overall GHQ score (mediation percentage: 92.3%), education (75.4%), OSS index (66.7%), and occupation (34.0%) on the GHQ score. The most significant mediation effects were observed for wealth on the somatic symptoms, social dysfunction, and depression dimensions, with SSS accounting for more than 80% of these associations. The findings indicate a significant mediating role of SSS in the relationship between OSS and mental health. Enhancing our comprehension of the social determinants that moderate the relationship between objective and subjective socioeconomic status may contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the impact of SES on mental health outcomes.

The mediation model of social status on the link between parental attachment, aggressive behavior, and psychological well-being: Evidence from two studies in Vietnamese adolescents and young adults.

Little is known about how insecure attachment affects aggressive behavior and well-being among Vietnamese youth. Using structural equation modeling, we investigate the mediating role of subjective social status (SSS) on the paths from insecure attachment to overt aggressive behavior (OAB) and psychological well-being (PW) in a sample of 1753 Vietnamese adolescents (Mage = 16.136, SD = 0.784) and test whether the results will be replicated in another sample of 601 Vietnamese young adults (Mage = 19.93, SD = 1.35). Participants complete a survey comprising demographic information, attachment styles, SSS, OAB, and PW questionnaires. Our main findings include: (a) anxious attachment positively related to OAB in both samples, (b) anxious attachment was only negatively associated with adolescents' PW, (c) avoidant attachment was positively correlated to OAB in adolescents but negatively correlated in young adults, and (d) avoidant attachment was negatively related to PW in both samples. In addition, (e) in adolescents, the mediation role of SSS was significant in all paths, but (f) SSS only mediated the link from avoidant attachment to PW of young adults. The present study suggests that aggressive behavior might not be associated with social status or attachment in the same way in adolescents compared to young adult Vietnamese samples.

Subjective Social Status as an Important Mediator in the Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Mental Health

Background and aims: Socioeconomic status (SES) is frequently seen as a significant indicator of mental health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the mediating role of subjective social status (SSS) in the association of SES and mental health among the employees of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). Methods: This cross-sectional research involved the analysis of data collected from 4461 TUMS employees using a two-step structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The study examined the impact of SES on mental health issues, specifically symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. SES was assessed as a composite index, and then each indicator was evaluated separately. SSS was considered as a potential mediator using the MacArthur scale, which was converted to a five-point Likert scale. The analysis utilized a two-step SEM approach in STATA version 14.0 with maximum likelihood estimation. Results: The majority of participants in the study were female (60.65%), and the mean (±SD) age of the participants was 42.21±8.72 years. The analysis revealed that the composite SES index had a standardized indirect effect of -0.05 on mental health through SSS. SSS accounted for 27.78% of the association between the composite SES index and mental health among TUMS employees (27.27% in males and 22.23% in females). Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that a lower SES may impact the development of mental health issues, indicating a relationship between SES and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

Youths’ Perceived Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic and Subjective Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Subjective Social Status

Youths’ Perceived Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic and Subjective Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Subjective Social Status

Aggressive Humor and Social Connectedness: The Moderating Roles of Subjective Social Status and Gender

Aggressive humor has been conceived as a maladaptive humor style that jeopardizes social relationships. However, past studies have yielded inconsistent findings regarding the detrimental effects of aggressive humor on social relationships. This study attempts to advance the existing literature by examining the gender difference in the moderating role of subjective social status in the association between aggressive humor and social connectedness. Participants were 228 (53.1% female) adults aged from 18 to 53 years (M = 23.19, SD = 6.43). The hypothesized moderated moderation effect was significant, suggesting that gender significantly moderated the moderating effect of subjective social status on the association between aggressive humor and social connectedness. Subjective social status significantly moderated the association between aggressive humor and social connectedness for men but not for women. For men, aggressive humor was negatively associated with social connectedness when subjective social status was low or medium, but the association was not significant when subjective social status was high. For women, aggressive humor was not associated with social connectedness regardless of subjective social status. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Childhood Abuse and Depression in Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy and the Moderating Role of Subjective Social Status

Childhood Abuse and Depression in Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy and the Moderating Role of Subjective Social Status

Predictors of well-being, future anxiety, and multiple recurrent health complaints among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of socioeconomic determinants, sense of coherence, and digital health literacy. An Italian cross-sectional study.

The pandemic deeply changed young adults' life. Lockdown period and the social restrictions dramatically affected university students' mental health. The aim of our cross-sectional study was to describe psychological well-being, future anxiety (FA), and health complaints (HCs) in a sample of 3,001 students of the University of Florence in the middle of the first two pandemic waves. We assessed the role of subjective social status, chronic diseases, sense of coherence (SoC), and digital health literacy (DHL) as predictors of psychological well-being, FA, and HCs. Students expressed high levels of FA and reported being disturbed by not being able to achieve their desired future goals. About 40% reported a low or a very low well-being and 19.1% experienced two or more subjective health complaints more than once a week. The likelihood of having a better mental health status significantly increased with increasing SoC and among males. Subjective Social Status proved to be a predictor for FA. Enhancing SoC could improve the health status of the university students during the pandemic and beyond.

The interplay between perceived busyness and power distance belief on subjective social status: Consequences for consumer preferences for material versus experiential purchases

AbstractThe perception of a busy life as an indicator of self‐worth varies among individuals. Postulating that this perceptual difference can be attributed to one's attitude toward social stratification, the current research examines the interplay between perceived busyness and power distance belief (PDB). We propose that perceived busyness dictates a consumer's subjective social status under low PDB but not under high PDB. Furthermore, the interaction between perceived busyness and PDB determines an individual's relative preference for purchase types: material versus experiential purchases. Study 1 verifies that consumers' perceived busyness has a positive effect on their evaluation of their social status when they have low PDB, whereas this effect disappears when they have high PDB. Study 2 tests the asymmetric effect of perceived busyness and PDB on preference for purchase types, and Study 3 further provides evidence for the mediating role of subjective social status.

Associations of relative deprivation with self-rated health and health-related quality of life: mediating role of subjective social status

ObjectivesRelative deprivation has been linked to various adverse health outcomes. However, the potential mediating factors in the association between relative deprivation and health outcomes remain unclear. This study aimed to (1) examine the association between relative deprivation and self-rated health and health-related quality of life among the working-age population in Taiwan and (2) investigate the mediating effect of subjective social status. Study designCross-sectional study using nationally representative data. MethodsData were obtained from the 2022 Taiwan Social Change Survey conducted from September 2021 to April 2022. We analyzed 1108 participants aged 25–64 years. Relative deprivation was measured using the Yitzhaki Index based on individual monthly income from all sources. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the 12-item Short Form Health Survey. ResultsAfter adjusting for all covariates and absolute income, least-squares regression models indicated a negative association between the Yitzhaki Index and self-rated health, as well as the physical and mental components of health-related quality of life. Furthermore, subjective social status partially mediates the association between relative income deprivation and poorer self-rated health and health-related quality of life. ConclusionsThe findings support the psychosocial effect of the relative deprivation measure, emphasizing the importance of addressing relative deprivation to improve health-related quality of life among the working-age population.

Socioeconomic status and depressive symptoms and suicidality: The role of subjective social status

BackgroundLow socioeconomic status (SES) confers access to material resources and social standing and is an established risk factor of both depressive symptoms and suicidality. Subjective social status (SSS) assesses how people perceive their position within the social hierarchy and has been proposed to impact mental health. This study examined the relationship between SES and depressive symptoms and suicidality and tested whether SSS mediated these associations. MethodsThis study drew on publicly available survey data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Participants were surveyed at baseline in 2008 (N = 4948; aged 28.8 years) and at followed up in 2016–2018 (N = 3509; aged 37.8 years). SES was gauged using personal and household income, assets, education, and job prestige. SSS was assessed using the MacArthur Scale. Depressive symptoms were assessed using four-items from the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Scale of Depression (CESD) and participants reported suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in the past year. ResultsBoth low SES and SSS were associated with elevated levels of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts in cross-sectional and prospective analyses. SSS explained 27 % of the association between SES and depressive symptoms, 51 % of the relationship between SES and suicidal ideation, and 37 % of the link between SES and suicide attempts on average. ConclusionsThese findings contribute to understanding the long-term effects of SSS and suggest that perceptions of status may be a key mechanism through which low SES forecasts the development of depressive symptoms and suicidality.

SUBJECTIVE SOCIAL STATUS MODERATES BACK PAIN AND MENTAL HEALTH: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF OLDER MEN

Abstract Objectives. This study tested the longitudinal relationship between back pain and mental health and examined the moderating role of subjective social status (SSS). Method. Community-dwelling older men from the MrOS Study provided four study visits of data collected between 2000-2016 (15,975 observations nested within 5,979 participants). Back pain frequency and severity were assessed at visits 1-4. General mental health was measured at each visit by the 12-item Short Form Survey Mental Component Score (SF-12 MCS; higher scores representing better mental health). National and community SSS were assessed at visits 1 and 3 with the MacArthur Scale. Growth curve models tested longitudinal within-person change associations after accounting for the repeated measures within each person. Age was used as the primary time variable. Results. At baseline, those with higher back pain-frequency/severity reported lower SF-12 MCS. After accounting for this between-person difference, there were bidirectional within-person associations between back pain frequency/severity and SF-12 MCS. On follow-up visits when back pain frequency/severity increased from baseline, participants reported lower SF-12 MCS (p<.001). On follow-up visits when SF-12 MCS decreased from baseline, participants also reported higher back pain frequency/severity (p<.001). Higher national and community SSS at baseline and having increases or consistently higher SSS over time attenuated the negative relationships between back pain frequency/severity and SF-12 MCS. Results were consistent after controlling for an extensive list of baseline health covariates and pain medications. Discussion. These findings highlight how self-perceived social status may buffer the relationship between greater back pain frequency/severity and lower mental health.

Second-class citizens? Subjective social status, acculturative stress, and immigrant well-being

The effects of social hierarchy on well-being are pervasive. An individual’s social status within the hierarchy has been proposed to play a role in acculturative stress and psychological well-being. Subjective social status is a method of measuring social status that has not been examined in immigrants’ well-being. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, this study explored questions about immigrants’ well-being as they deal with acculturative stressors in the United States. In particular, the potential role of subjective social status (SSS) in the acculturative stress process was examined. Three hundred and five adult immigrants from over 68 countries were recruited. Overall, the results indicated a negative association between acculturative stress with quality of life, psychological well-being, and physical health. Regression analysis also indicated that subjective social status moderated this negative association. The results make the contribution that SSS is relevant to the association of acculturative stress and immigrant well-being.

Rising income inequality and the relative decline in subjective social status of the working class

The declining ‘subjective social status’ of the low-educated working class has been advanced as a prominent explanation for right-wing populism. The working class has certainly been adversely affected by rising income inequality over the past decades, but we do not actually know if their perceived standing in the social hierarchy has declined correspondingly over time. This article examines trends in subjective social status in two ‘most likely cases’ – Germany and the US – between 1980 and 2018. We find that the subjective social status of the working class has not declined in absolute terms. However, there is evidence for relative status declines for the working class in Germany and substantial within-class heterogeneity in both countries. These findings imply that rising income inequality has a nuanced impact on status perceptions. When assessing the role of subjective social status for political outcomes, longitudinal perspectives that consider both absolute and relative changes seem promising. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2022.2038892 .

The role of subjective social status in living well for carers of people with dementia: findings from the Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life programme

We investigated how carers of people with dementia evaluate their standing in their community and wider society, and if this is related to ‘living well’. We used baseline data from the Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life programme and found that carers rated their standing in society higher than in their local community. Higher evaluations of both were associated with enhanced life satisfaction, well-being and quality of life. Initiatives that increase support or engagement in the community or wider society may help to increase carers’ perceptions of their social status, enhancing their ability to ‘live well’.

Subjective social status moderates back pain and mental health in older men

Objectives Back pain and poor mental health are interrelated issues in older men. Evidence suggests that socioeconomic status moderates this relationship, but less is known about the role of subjective social status (SSS). This study examined if the association between back pain and mental health is moderated by SSS. Method We used a sample of community-dwelling older men (≥65 years) from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study (N = 5994). Participants self-reported their back pain severity and frequency over the past 12 months. SSS was assessed with the MacArthur Scale of SSS. Mental health was assessed with the SF-12 Mental Component Summary (MCS). Results Severe back pain was associated with lower SF-12 MCS scores (p = .03). Back pain frequency was not associated with SF-12 MCS scores. SSS moderated the back pain and mental health relationship. Among men with higher national or community SSS, the association between back pain severity and SF-12 MCS scores was not significant. However, among men with lower national or community SSS, more severe back pain was associated with lower SF-12 MCS scores (p’s < .001). Among those with lower national or community SSS, greater back pain frequency was also associated with lower SF-12 MCS scores (p’s < .05). Conclusion Where one ranks oneself within their nation or community matters for the back pain and mental health relationship. Higher SSS may be a psychosocial resource that buffers the negative associations of severe and frequent back pain on mental health in older men.

Social Status Equalization and Outdoor Orientation Programs: An Exploratory Study

Background: Research results indicate outdoor orientation programs (OOPs) successfully help students transition to college and increase student retention, but an understanding of all the key variables involved in creating those positive transitions is unknown. Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the role of subjective social status as a variable that may be important to the curricular design of OOPs. Methodology/Approach: Surveys asking questions about status were sent to students from 31 college OOPs between 2013 and 2017. Responses ( N = 4,484) were reviewed to understand students’ perceptions of within-group social status. Findings/Conclusions: OOP participants most often reported perceiving their social status as equal among group members. Equality perception was associated with traits such as vocality (defined as being able to verbalize ideas and be listened to in the group) and certain aspects of the trip structure (e.g., shared living conditions). Respondents who reported social status equality also reported positive experiences. Implications: Subjective perceptions of within-group status may have important implications for OOPs and may be an important consideration for program planning and curriculum.

When Subjective Social Status Matters: Moderating Effects in the Association between Victimization and Mental Health

ABSTRACT Social status is found to interfere with health outcomes after adverse life experiences. Evidence suggests the importance of subjective social status (SSS), above and beyond objective status. This study tests the moderating role of SSS in the association between victimization and mental health, considering the effect of distinct forms of victimization, clinical symptoms and psychological well-being. A sample of 300 adults completed self-reported questionnaires. Results revealed that greater psychological victimization was associated with lower self-acceptance and autonomy, and greater sexual victimization was associated with lower autonomy, particularly when participants reported lower SSS. Implications for intervention with victims are discussed.

Subjective Social Status as a Predictor of Loneliness: The Moderating Effect of the Type of Long-Term Care Setting.

Much has been written about the important role that subjective social status plays in older adults' well-being and subjective health. Less is known, however, about the potential role played by subjective social status in people's sense of loneliness. In the present study, the author examined the role of subjective social status as a predictor of loneliness in adult day care centers (ADCCs) and continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) over a 1-year period. The main analyses consist of data from 245 respondents (141 ADCC participants and 104 CCRC residents) who completed the interviews in Waves 1 and 2. A significant interaction between subjective social status and type of long-term care setting was found. Higher levels of subjective social status were associated with lower levels of loneliness in CCRCs, but no such association was evident in ADCCs. These findings are interpreted in view of the characteristics of the CCRC as a total institution versus the ADCC as a setting that provides support for only several hours per day, several days per week.

Unemployment and mental health in the German population: the role of subjective social status.

PurposeSubjective social status (SSS) reflects individuals’ perceived position in a social hierarchy. Low SSS is associated with several mental health impairments. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine if unemployed individuals report lower SSS in Germany (national SSS) and lower SSS in their social community (local SSS) than employed individuals. Moreover, the relationship between unemployment, SSS, and mental health was examined.Patients and methods113 unemployed and 1117 employed individuals from a representative German panel provided information on their national and local SSS, their monthly income and their mental health. SSS was assessed with the German version of the MacArthur Scales. Mental health was measured using the mental component scale (MCS) of the SF-12.ResultsUnemployed individuals reported significantly lower national SSS, local SSS and mental health compared to employed participants. Mediational analyses suggest that the negative effect of employment status on mental health was explained via a reduction of national SSS. Local SSS did not mediate the association of employment status and mental health.ConclusionUnemployment is associated with lower SSS and reduced mental health. The perceived position relative to others in the country (ie, national SSS) mediates the association between employment status and mental health.

Subjective socioeconomic status, health, and early-life conditions.

We study the role of subjective social status on health and its correlates, with an emphasis on the predictive power of early-life conditions on subjective social status. A well-established literature links early-life conditions to later-life objective measures of socioeconomic status, but little attention has been paid to their effects on subjective socioeconomic status. We find that socioeconomic factors during childhood are important predictors of subjective social status, even after controlling for contemporaneous socioeconomic conditions. This shows an additional psychological and behavioral channel through which early-life conditions influence later outcomes and which has not been yet studied in sufficient detail.