Subjective Social Status (SSS) as an Important Mediator in the Association between Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Mental Health (original) (raw)
Related papers
An Examination of the Correlation between Socioeconomic Status and Mental Health
Socioeconomic status, mental health both are the most important determinant of an individual's wellbeing. The relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health has received the most attention in recent years. Many types of research done on this topic, this study also try to find out the relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health. In these survey 450 respondents selected from different parts of society both male and female are includes and income level is divided into three type's high income, middle income, and low-income level. All respondents are between thirty to fifty years. All primary data collected through a questionnaire. This study tests several hypotheses about the underlying causal structure of the positive relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health. Demographic information and happiness index (verma &verma) used in this survey for collecting information. This survey reveals that economic status positively affects the mental health. Most of the peoples have a quality life with the strong economic condition but some exemption also finds out that are happier than other with the weak economic condition. Around 69.6% respondents think money brings depression, stress, and angry behavior.
Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2018
This study examined the associations of subjective social status (SSS), objective measures of socioeconomic status (SES), and depression among graduate-level college students. This cross-sectional study surveyed 800 graduate-level students attending a major public research university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. SSS was derived from the MacAuthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, SES from respondents' parental income and education, and depression from the Patient Health Questionnaire-2. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between SSS, SES, and depression controlling for covariates. The overall prevalence of depression in the sample was 11.1%. Regression modeling demonstrated that low SSS was predictive of depression (OR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.56-0.77) whereas all objective measures of SES were non-significant. Low SSS is a relevant risk factor for depression and should be considered in mental health counseling and academic advising of graduate-level students as it may be amenable to intervention.
Journal of Public Health, 2021
Background Socioeconomic status, especially during childhood, is known as one of the key factors affecting health. This study’s objective was to investigate the association between childhood socioeconomic and mental health status in adulthood. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2062 employees of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Depression, stress and anxiety were measured using the validated DASS-42 questionnaire. A self-rated question was used to assess childhood socioeconomic status. Other variables including age, sex, marital status, and also wealth index, were measured. Linear regression models were used to analyze the data. Results 24.6% of men and 33.8% of women had degrees of depression (mild, moderate, severe or very severe). 32.9% of men and 29.4% of women had mild, moderate, severe or very severe anxiety. 36.3% of men and 45.2% of women also exhibited mild, moderate, severe or very severe stress. Results showed after adjusting for the current socioec...
The Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Depression
Numerous studies document lower levels of depression among adults with higher socioeconomic status (SES). This may be because income directly leads to depression. However, little is known about whether an intermediate variable, such as stress, leads to depression in people with a lower SES. In other words, does stress (increased potential threats to wellbeing and decreases in benefits to wellbeing) lead to increased negative emotion and decreased positive emotion? This study investigates the relationship between depression, financial stress and annual income. Data for this investigation come from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) 2015, a nationally representative sample of 441,456 U.S. adults interviewed by telephone. The results suggest that the three factors are closely related, but the association between SES and depression is stronger than the relationship between SES and financial stress. These results show that an integration of insights from stress paradigm and the correlational perspective can lead to a fuller understanding of socioeconomic inequality and its influence on depression. Keywords: socioeconomic status, depression, cross-sectional
SN Social Sciences, 2021
Previous research has found a positive association between social class and mental health among university students. Various mediators of this association have been proposed. However, the extent to which students perceive these mediators as having an impact on their mental health has not been investigated. It is important to investigate this issue because students who do not perceive issues as having an impact on their mental health may not be motivated to address those issues. In the current study, 402 first-year undergraduate psychology students from a large Australian university indicated the extent to which 32 issues had a negative impact on their mental health over the past six months. Students rated lack of money, time management, coursework assessment items, lack of sleep, and course marks as having the largest impact on their mental health. Lack of money and time management mediated the positive association between subjective social status and mental health over (a) the past week and (b) the past month. Coursework assessment items and course marks mediated the positive association between subjective social status and satisfaction with the university experience. It is concluded that interventions should focus on these relatively high impact issues in order to address social class differences in students’ mental health and university satisfaction.
Subjective social status in association with various health and socioeconomic indicators in Tehran
Journal of Public Health, 2016
Aim Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the most important determinants of health. Subjective social status (SSS) is a popular SES indicator. The objective of this study is to compare the associations between health and various SES indicators in order to examine whether SSS is a proper SES indicator. Subject and methods In this 2013 cross-sectional study, 1,995 Tehrani residents were selected through multi-stage random sampling. The questionnaires included items on subjective and objective SES, self-rated health (SRH) and objective health status. The crude and adjusted associations between health and SES indicators were assessed using bivariate and multiple logistic regressions. Results The crude associations between SSS and all assessed health outcomes were significant. After adjustment of the wealth index, consumption, education and occupation, the associations between SSS and SRH (OR = 0.69, CI 95 %: 0.55-0.86) and having cardiovascular (OR = 0.73, CI 95 %: 0.58-0.92), musculoskeletal (OR = 0.81, CI 95 %: 0.70-0.94), asthma and other respiratory diseases (OR = 0.71, CI 95 %: 0.54-0.92) still remained significant. The adjusted associations between SSS and having hypertension and diabetes were not significant. SSS had a stronger correlation with the wealth index (Spearman r = 0.42) compared to other SES indicators. Conclusion SSS showed a significant association with most of the health outcomes, independent of other SES indicators; therefore, it can be used in health research, though it is not an exact alternative for other objective SES indicators.
IMPORTANCE The inverse social gradient in mental disorders is a well-established research finding with important implications for causal models and policy. This research has used traditional objective social status (OSS) measures, such as educational level, income, and occupation. Recently, subjective social status (SSS) measurement has been advocated to capture the perception of relative social status, but to our knowledge, there have been no studies of associations between SSS and mental disorders. OBJECTIVES To estimate associations of SSS with DSM-IV mental disorders in multiple countries and to investigate whether the associations persist after comprehensive adjustment of OSS. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Face-to-face cross-sectional household surveys of community-dwelling adults in 18 countries in Asia, South Pacific, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East (N = 56 085). Subjective social status was assessed with a self-anchoring scale reflecting respondent evaluations of their place in the social hierarchies of their countries in terms of income, educational level, and occupation. Scores on the 1 to 10 SSS scale were categorized into 4 categories: low (scores 1-3), low-mid (scores 4-5), high-mid (scores 6-7), and high (scores 8-10). Objective social status was assessed with a wide range of fine-grained objective indicators of income, educational level, and occupation. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The Composite International Diagnostic Interview assessed the 12-month prevalence of 16 DSM-IV mood, anxiety, and impulse control disorders. RESULTS The weighted mean survey response rate was 75.2% (range, 55.1%-97.2%). Graded inverse associations were found between SSS and all 16 mental disorders. Gross odds ratios (lowest vs highest SSS categories) in the range of 1.8 to 9.0 were attenuated but remained significant for all 16 disorders (odds ratio, 1.4-4.9) after adjusting for OSS indicators. This pattern of inverse association between SSS and mental disorders was significant in 14 of 18 individual countries, and in low-, middle-, and high-income country groups but was significantly stronger in high-vs lower-income countries. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Significant inverse associations between SSS and numerous DSM-IV mental disorders exist across a wide range of countries even after comprehensive adjustment for OSS. Although it is unclear whether these associations are the result of social selection, social causation, or both, these results document clearly that research relying exclusively on standard OSS measures underestimates the steepness of the social gradient in mental disorders.
The European Journal of Public Health, 2011
Background: This study aims to confirm associations between subjective social status (SSS) and health in the Swedish working population, to investigate if SSS is related to health over and above conventional measures of socioeconomic status and to identify factors related to perception of SSS. Methods: The study includes 2358 men and 2665 women in the age group of 19-68 years who participated in the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). SSS was measured using the MacArthur scale, a 10-rung ladder on which individuals indicate where they think they stand in the social hierarchy. Health, health behaviors and social situation were also measured in 2006, while more objective measures of socioeconomic position were derived from registry data and interviews in 2003. Results: Perception of SSS was cross-sectionally related to age-adjusted prevalence of suboptimal perceived general health, sleep disturbances, musculoskeletal symptoms, depressive symptoms and emotional exhaustion. Relative Indices of Inequalities (RII) showed significant relationships between SSS and health, which were attenuated by adjustment for general life satisfaction. Adjustment for occupational grade, education and income further attenuated the relationship. The main predictors of SSS in 2006 were occupational grade, personal income and education in 2003; household financial situation, general life satisfaction and job control in 2006. When ranking their SSS, women put more weight on household financial situation and men on their personal income. Conclusion: SSS is associated with prevalence of several health complaints in the Swedish working population over and above conventional SES, indicating that SSS is a valid measure of social inequality in health.
Explaining social class differences in depression and well-being
Work characteristics, including skill discretion and decision authority, explain most of the socioeconomic status gradient in well-being and depression in middle-aged British civil servants from the Whitehall II Study, London. Social support explained about one-third of the gradient, life events and material diculties less than one-third. Socioeconomic status was measured by employment grade. Work characteristics were based on the Karasek model, social support was measured by the Close Persons Questionnaire, depression by the General Health Questionnaire and well-being by the Aect Balance Scale. Despite a small contribution from social selective factors measured by upward mobility, the psychosocial work environment explained most of the cross-sectional socioeconomic status gradient in well-being and depression.