Social Class Variation Research Articles

Stimulation beliefs, parental reading involvement, and social inequalities in children's language development

Objective: This study investigates whether greater identification of mothers and fathers in different-sex couples with the stimulation dimension of intensive parenting promoted both parents' involvement in reading and benefited children's language development between ages 3 and 5 in the UK. In addition, we explore social class variations. Background: Our study tests the frequently assumed relationship of parenting beliefs about stimulation with language development, and contributes to our understanding of parenting practices and their implications for child development. Method: We draw on a large representative sample of young children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (N = 8,071) and apply path analyses in the framework of structural equation models. Results: For mothers and fathers, stimulation beliefs partially mediated the relation between parental education and reading frequency. Mothers' and fathers' stimulation beliefs had positive effects on children’s language abilities, but their impact was small compared to the direct associations with parental education. Conclusion: While parental education emerges as a key determinant of children's language development, our study reveals the nuanced role of beliefs about stimulation within intensive parenting, prompting further investigation into the multifaceted nature of parental involvement.

With a little help from my family and friends: social class and contextual variations in the role of personal networks in students’ higher education plans

This article analyses the influence of family and friends on students’ higher education plans. Using a Bourdieusian framework, it examines social class and contextual influences on both the structure of students’ networks and the content of interactions within them. These are shown to be dependent on the dispositions and capitals of both the students and the members of those networks. Relying on data from a questionnaire circulated among 1,645 French lycée students, the article shows the existence of significant social class differences in the frequency and nature of students’ interactions about higher education with various types of family members and friends. It also highlights that these differences are subject to contextual variations, with students from the same social background interacting differently with their personal networks about their higher education plans depending on the school they attend and the track in which they are enrolled.

Social Class and Socialization Values in the United States and China

The psychological correlate of social class across cultures is a topic of debate. Some have argued cross-cultural similarities, while others have maintained culturally divergent manifestations of social class. Using the data from the World Value Survey 2017 to 2020 (Wave 7), the current study examined the associations between social class and socialization values among parents in the United States ( n = 1,615) and China ( n = 2,524). Results indicated that all social class indices (i.e., education level, income, subjective social status, and composite social class) were positively associated with self-oriented socialization values in the United States, whereas such associations were absent in China, except for education level. In addition, higher social class, in terms of higher income, higher subjective social status, and higher composite social class, was associated with greater other-oriented socialization values in China. However, such associations were absent (for income, education level, and composite social class) or even reversed (for subjective social status) in the United States. These findings extend the literature on social class variations in parenting and highlight cultural specificity in the psychological manifestations of social class.

Social Class Variation And Parental Involvement To Students’ Learning Development In Remote Instructions

The focal purpose of this study is to determine relationship of social class variation and parental involvement to students? learning development during remote instructions. Specifically, it aims to answer the level of social class variation, level of parental involvement, level of student?s learning development, significance relation between social class variation and student?s learning development and significance relation between parental involvement and student?s learning development. The scope of this study was centers only on the relation of social class variation and parental involvement in the student?s academic behavior and academic performance during remote instruction. The researcher avoids causing harm and assure that the actions will take responsibly. The data and information gathered by using questionnaires composing 50 questions that are answered by the parents/guardian and teacher respondents from Famy District. Findings shows that there are differences in social class variation of every family, some families are earning more and some are on the minimum wage, which can affect the student?s education whether if they can give and support the needs of their children. It also reveals that parents try their best to be involved on their children and give focus and attention on the learner?s progress, however, there are times that they canny fully monitored their children?s output due their works. There is also a high level of student?s learning development which is shown from their interest on learning and developing confidence that can positively affect their education. It also shows that social class variation has no significant relationship on student?s learning development because students do not rely on their economic status and understand the importance education. Parental involvement, attention, guidance and support has also proven to have a significant effect on the students? learning environment and performance in school. Recommendations included that the parents continue to be involved on their children education, always try to monitor their progress and address their needs so that they will increase their interest and motivation towards learning, teachers should continue to do some programs to let the parent involve in student?s learning environment, reach out and promote the importance of parental involvement on the learner?s education, for the school and teachers to help their learners develop their academic behavior by providing more self-reflective activities and/or extracurricular programs that could aid them on enhancing their study habits and interest, and it is suggested that school maintains the good relationship and effective communication with the parents so that they will be able to give their utmost support for the children, teacher and the whole school organization which can also be a foundation of effective learning development.

Rural/Urban Differences: Persistence or Decline☆

A long line of sociological research has found that rural residents tend to be more conservative than urban residents in the U.S. on a wide range of attitudes and behaviors. Two primary arguments have been utilized to understand why these differences exist. First, rural/urban differences were thought to be largely a function of rural isolation and differences in types of employment. As rural areas have become less isolated and employment differences have diminished, rural/urban differences are thought to diminish as well. Any remaining rural/urban differences can largely be explained by social class variations. Second, differing interaction patterns in rural areas resulting from fewer people and lower population densities continue to make rural areas unique. This manuscript found strong support for the second argument that rural areas remain unique. Even when statistically controlling for race/ethnicity and social class, rural residents were much more likely to vote for Trump in the 2020 presidential election, were more likely to choose the conservative side on six controversial political issues than urban residents. These findings have important implications in understanding our deeply divided nation. The need for quality social science research to understand modern rural America is apparent.

A Two-Sided Lockdown? Social Class Variations in the Implementation of Homeschooling During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic deeply affected how schools and families functioned through most of 2020. In particular, school closures meant parents took on a more central role in their children’s learning. This study analyzed social class variations in the quantity and quality of homeschooling during the lockdown. Through an online questionnaire, 360 parents reported (1) their digital equipment and use, (2) the perceptions of their ability to homeschool their children, (3) how they handled homeschooling and (4) the extent to which they supported other activities considered more or less “profitable” from an educational point of view (e.g., reading, watching television). A social position index was used as a proxy of social class. The results indicated that all parents were highly involved in setting up homeschooling and that the lower the parents’ social position, the more they spent time homeschooling their children. However, in line with the digital divide literature, the lower the parents’ social position, the lower the digital equipment and the less the parents felt capable of homeschooling. Finally, the higher the social position of the families, the more children spent time doing activities considered to be “educationally profitable,” and the less they spent time doing “unprofitable activities.” Thus, even if all parents were highly involved in homeschooling, higher social position parents were better equipped both materially and psychologically to face the challenge of homeschooling. The long-term impact of these processes on the perpetuation of social class inequalities are discussed.

COVID-19 in Ghana: Changes and the Way Forward

As a lower-middle income country, Ghana is noted for having a progressive economy, health system, and family trends. However, COVID-19, with it associated restrictions, has brought changes to various aspects of Ghanaians’ lives. In this paper, we review information from government websites, online media websites, social media, academic articles, and anecdotal evidence to track changes brought about by the pandemic. Specifically, we focus on economic well-being, education and schooling, family interaction, mental health and communication in community as well ethnic, cultural, and social class variations. Findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic is changing life for all Ghanaians, notably by reinforcing existing inequalities and highlighting previously known gaps in service, coverage, and access across multiple sectors, including healthcare, business and education. Family patterns are changing for both the nuclear and extended family units. The pandemic has created both challenges and opportunities for parents to engage with their children. Anxiety levels are heightened and psychological services have consequently been made widely available. Education has slowly and unevenly gone virtual. Further, the crisis has generated local innovations to meet the nation’s needs during the pandemic. The findings call for national reforms in the production and distribution of goods and services in all sectors as well as empirical work into the long-term effects of the pandemic on Ghanaians.

Providing a ‘‘Leg Up’’: Parental Involvement and Opportunity Hoarding in College

Although higher education scholars are increasingly exploring disparities within institutions, they have yet to examine how parental involvement contributes to social-class variation in students’ experiences. We ask, what role do parents play in producing divergent college experiences for students from different class backgrounds? Relying on interviews with 41 families, including mothers, fathers, and their daughters, we find that affluent parents serve as a ‘‘college concierge,’’ using class resources to provide youth with academic, social, and career support and access to exclusive university infrastructure. Less affluent parents, instead, describe themselves as ‘‘outsiders’’ who are unable to help their offspring and find the university unresponsive to their needs. Our findings suggest that affluent parents distinguish their children’s college experiences from those of peers, extending ‘‘effectively maintained inequality’’ beyond the K-12 education. Universities may be receptive of these efforts due to funding shifts that make recruiting affluent, out-of-state families desirable.

Class, Gender, and Rhoticity: The Social Stratification of Non-Prevocalic /r/ in Edinburgh Speech

Despite the prominence of socioeconomic status as a factor in models of English variation, few studies have explicitly considered speakers whose social class status changed over their lifetime. This paper presents an auditory and acoustic analysis of variation in non-prevocalic /r/ among middle-aged adults from Edinburgh, Scotland. The speakers represent three groups: the Established Middle Class (EMC) and the Working Class (WC), both of which are characterized as socioeconomically non-mobile, and a third group we call the New Middle Class (NMC), comprising individuals born to working-class families and living middle-class lives at the time of data collection. The results demonstrate that realizations of /r/ have a significant correlation with socioeconomic status, and that the effect of class further interacts with gender. NMC speakers demonstrate the highest level of rhoticity of all three groups. In contrast, WC men show extensive derhoticization and deletion, while WC women show patterns of rhoticity that are more comparable to the NMC women. The EMC speakers show more non-rhoticity than either the NMC speakers or the WC women. A consideration of the indexical value of weak rhoticity highlights the need for more robust phonetic measures distinguishing non-rhoticity from derhoticization, and to that end we consider the cue of post-vocalic frication. Overall, the results point to the need to conceptualize socioeconomic status as potentially fluid and changeable across the lifespan, thereby improving models of the relationship between social class and linguistic variation.

Commentary 1: The Challenging Task of Addressing Power, Control, and Influence in Sibling Relationships After the First Two Decades of Life.

Extending the topic of power, control, and influence in the sibling relationship past the years covered in this issue is not an easy task because most adult siblings neither interact frequently nor live in geographic proximity, although there are considerable ethnic and social class variations. Thus, there are limited opportunities to observe how power is manifested, how siblings control each other and themselves to achieve their goals, nor how siblings influence each other. Comments in this commentary address the challenges presented when considering the trajectory of these dynamics in adult sibling relationships as well as the difficulties sibling dynamics present in carrying out tasks for which an egalitarian relationship is not ideal.

Social class variation, the effect of the economic recession and childhood obesity at 3 years of age in Ireland.

Many studies have reported a social class gradient within overweight prevalence ( 1-4 ). Additionally, cross-country comparisons report high overweight trends and a change in food consumption patterns in countries affected by an economic crisis ( 5-11 ). The aim of this study was to assess the association between social class and recession on obesity levels in 3-year-old Irish children. The population-based infant cohort of the national Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study was used. Prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were calculated and logistic regression models, adjusting for confounders, were used to examine the relationship between social class, effects of the recession and childhood obesity. In 2008, 19.5% of 9-month-olds were obese and 19.4% overweight increasing to 22.7% and 20.4%, respectively by 2011 when the infants were 3 years old (World Health Organization (WHO) criteria). The prevalence of obesity increased by 2.3% to 10.1% for various social classes (unadjusted). However, adjusting for confounders, there was no evidence of a difference in obesity of 3-year-old children across social classes. There was evidence that obesity was 22-27% higher for families who perceived a very significant crisis effect on their family, compared with those significantly affected. Increases in obesity were found to be significantly associated with perceived recession effects on the family, but not with social class. Policy makers should be aware that in times of economic downturn, public health efforts to promote healthy weight are needed at a population level rather than for specific social classes.

Wishes and Gratitude of Students from Private and Public Schools

Abstract We examined social class (measured by attendance in public or private schools), gender, and age-related variations in the expression of wishes and gratitude of 430 7- to 14-year-olds (181 male, 62.1% from public schools). Chi-square analysis indicated that students from private schools expressed significantly more social-oriented wishes and connective gratitude, whereas those from public schools expressed significantly more self-oriented wishes. Girls in the public schools expressed significantly more self-oriented wishes and verbal gratitude than did boys. Regression analysis (curve estimation) indicated that verbal gratitude, self- and social oriented wishes increased and concrete gratitude decreased significantly with age, but connective gratitude tended to increase. These findings support the idea that gratitude and wish types involve the development of cognitive aspects, such as taking others into account and thinking about the future, but it is also influenced by the social contexts in which children live, such as their social class.

Socioeconomic Standing and Variability in Marriage Timing in the Twentieth Century

This research draws on extensive data from the General Social Survey (GSS) and the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to shed new light on change and variability in family life. I address two overarching questions. First, how did variability in marriage timing change over the course of the twentieth century? Second, did changes in the variability of marriage timing occur broadly across socioeconomic groups, or have they been limited to the top or bottom of the socioeconomic ladder? Because identifying consistent measures of socioeconomic standing over broad historical periods is not straightforward, and because one’s own socioeconomic standing may be in part flow from marriage decisions, I triangulate results using multiple measures of social standing. Although the magnitude and timing of changes in age of first marriage vary somewhat across social class, my results point to generally similar underlying trends across class groups. Social class variation in marriage patterns is well documented, yet explanations for the changing variability in marriage timing over the course of the twentieth century also needs to consider factors that could have affected all social class groups to some extent.

Intra-generational social mobility and educational qualifications

The relation between intra-generational social class mobility of parents and their children's subsequent educational qualifications, and the implications of this relation for educational stratification, is explored by fitting statistical models to data from two UK longitudinal datasets: one based on the UK Census (ONS LS) and the 1970 birth cohort study (BCS70). Children whose parents are upwardly mobile gain higher educational qualifications than their peers in their class of origin, but obtain lower qualifications than their peers in their class of destination. The reverse pattern is observed for the downwardly mobile. These results mirror those obtained for the relation between adult intra-generational social mobility and a number of widely used measures of health. The implications of the findings for different explanations of the social class gradient in educational attainment are examined. The findings provide greater support for theoretical explanations of educational inequalities that are based on differences in economic circumstances between social classes than they do for explanations based on social class variations in the levels of cultural capital and aspirations. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that the overall pattern of results from these analyses is unchanged after statistically controlling for levels of parental education. The findings also have methodological implications for measuring the social class gradient in attainment and qualifications.

Social class variation in the predictors of rapid growth in infancy and obesity at age 3 years

To examine the extent to which early child nutrition, maternal antenatal lifestyle behaviours and child diet and lifestyle explain social class inequalities in the risk of rapid weight gain between birth and 3 years and obesity at age 3 years. A longitudinal and prospective birth cohort study. Nationally representative sample of 11,134 children and their parents followed from 9 months of age until 3 years. Child weight and maternal height and weight were measured at 9 months and 3 years and child birth weight was extracted from hospital records. Other predictors of child growth and obesity were collected by maternal report at 9 months and 3 years. Although born lighter on average, children of unskilled manual parents were 274 g heavier than children of professional parents by 3 years of age. The fully adjusted model of rapid growth from birth to 3 years of age and obesity at 3 years of age accounted for all social class differentials. Breastfeeding and age at the introduction of solids were associated with the largest average reduction (41%) in the odds ratio (OR) of rapid growth in the first 9 months of life for each class relative to the professional class. In the period from 9 months to 3 years of age, the class differential in rapid growth was reduced most by measures of the child's diet and lifestyle. However, the impact of the groups of predictors varied by social class. For early life growth, among the non-manual classes the proportionate reductions are largest when adjusted for early infant nutrition, whereas maternal prenatal smoking is more important for the manual social classes. Preventative interventions to reduce levels of childhood obesity should be multi-dimensional but different dimensions should be given more or less significance depending on socio-economic group.

Contexts of childhood and play: Exploring parental perceptions

The article explores cross-cultural notions of play in childhood among parents based on empirical investigations in two economically diverse residential areas in a metropolis in India. All parents had an unquestionable belief in an epistemic grounding of play in children’s lives. However, parents begin to question play timings and children’s engagement with play when faced with the contemporary demands of schooling which are enmeshed in a childhood dominated by academic achievement, suppressing parents’ intuitive leanings towards play. The school-led social environment regulates play and shapes notions of childhood, forcing parents to socialize children for school performance and ‘print expertise’. Social class variations are more an outcome of socioeconomic geographies and not education-based awareness only. The penetrating advent of technology in children’s lives renders gadgets as treasured play objects among certain social groups replacing the make-believe games of yesteryear.

Socioeconomic differences in early childhood time preferences

This article examines the extent to which early childhood socioeconomic differences emerge in hyperactivity, impulsivity and persistence, all of which are psychometric analogues to how economists conceptualise time discounting. We control for a wide range of factors including parental investment and proxies for maternal time preferences. Our results show substantial social class variations across measures at age 3. We find weak evidence that these measures are predicted by differential maternal behaviours (e.g. savings behaviour, smoking) but relatively stronger evidence that these traits are transmitted through the parents’ own non-cognitive skills (self-esteem, attachment) and parental time investments (time spent reading to the child and teaching the child to write, sing).

What Observation Studies Can Tell Us About Single Child Play Patterns, Gender, and Changes in Chinese Society

Our study focused on Chinese children’s play patterns in two different Chinese capitals: Chengdu—the capital of Sichuan in southwest China and Hohhot—the capital of the autonomous Inner Mongolia region in northern China. Unlike child psychologists working in China, who prefer survey instruments organized around parent and teacher interviews, the authors relied primarily upon behavioral observations. Their study is based on naturalistic observations of children in different age cohorts interacting in a variety of social contexts. It draws on a social ecology approach to examine the role of social setting, social class, and regional variation on children’s interaction style. The authors wanted to link their findings to both Four Cultures and Six Cultures studies. To that end they adopted a behaviorist approach that used similar methodology to code children’s interactions. They sought to identify the frequency of particular types of children’s interactions that ranged from types of aggressive and dominance displays, cooperative and altruistic acts, to the frequency of acts of retaliation to aggressive act(s). In Chengdu they coded 342 acts; while 120 Hohhotian acts were coded for a total of 462 interaction episodes. Their study is designed to incorporate both analytical perspectives—observation and interviews—to provide a more nuanced commentary on the potential significance of Chinese children’s playful interactions.

Class Differences in Cohabitation Processes

Despite the burgeoning cohabitation literature, research has failed to examine social class variation in processes of forming and advancing such unions. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with 122 working- and middle-class cohabitors, we examine the duration between dating and moving in together, reasons for cohabiting, and subsequent plans. Transitions to cohabitation are more rapid among the working class. Respondents often cohabited for practical reasons-out of financial necessity, because it was convenient, or to meet a housing need. Regardless of social class status, few couples move in together as a "trial marriage." Nonetheless, middle-class cohabitors were more likely to have become engaged than their working-class counterparts. Our findings indicate the need to reassess common beliefs regarding the role served by cohabitation and suggest that cohabitation has become another location where family outcomes are diverging by social class.

Welfare regime and social class variation in poverty and economic vulnerability in Europe: an analysis of EU-SILC

In this paper we address a set of interrelated issues. These comprise increasing concerns about reliance on nationally based income poverty measures in the context of EU enlargement, the relative merits of one-dimensional versus multidimensional approaches to poverty and social exclusion and the continuing relevance of class-based explanations of life chances. When identifying economically vulnerable groups we find that, contrary to the situation with national income poverty measures, levels of vulnerability vary systematically across welfare regimes. The multidimensional profile of the economically vulnerable sharply differentiates them from the remainder of the population. While they are also characterised by distinctively higher levels of multiple deprivation, a substantial majority of the economically vulnerable are not exposed to such deprivation. Unlike the national relative income approach, the focus on economic vulnerability reveals a pattern of class differentiation that is not dominated by the contrast between the self-employed and all others. In contrast to a European-wide relative income approach, it also simultaneously captures the fact that absolute levels of vulnerability are distinctively higher among the lower social classes in the less comprehensive and generous welfare regimes while class relativities are significantly sharper at the other end of the spectrum.