1-112 - Beyond SES: Relative and Subjective Social Status are Related to Adolescent Well-Being

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

A wealth of evidence has demonstrated that socioeconomic status (SES) is a clear predictor of mental and physical health across development. However, a growing body of research has indicated the value of examining the effect of income beyond traditional, objective measures of SES. For example, it has been evidenced that an adolescent’s social class relative to social others, such as neighbors or peers at school, is predictive of self-image, academic achievement, and problem behaviors. This symposium will extend the findings on how adolescent social status is related to psychological well-being based on measures of relative income and subjective social status.
Study 1 examines adolescent relative income, and finds that adolescents whose families earn less than the neighborhood median have increased externalizing and internalizing problems. In addition, this effect is mediated through adolescent-reported social dissatisfaction. Next, Study 2 explores how adolescent subjective social status (SSS) is related to day-to-day mental health, and finds that increased SSS is associated with decreased depression, anxiety, and ADH. Finally, Study 3 uses a large longitudinal twin sample and finds that SSS is uniquely associated with a number of mental health outcomes by age 18. In addition, these associations held after controlling for family SES, and SSS ratings also predicted differences between siblings on mental health and educational outcomes.
These studies indicate how relative and subjective social class are predictive of adolescent well-being. As such, findings demonstrate the value of examining social class beyond objective measures of SES.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• tabitha wurster, University of Virginia

Discussant

• Robert Crosnoe, University of Texas Austin

Individual Presentations

• Income Within Context: Relative Income Matters for Adolescents - Presenting Author: tabitha wurster, University of Virginia; Nicole Sorhagen, Millersville University

• Subjective Social Status Predicts Adolescents’ Mental Health Problems in Daily Life: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study - Presenting Author: Michael Arthur Russell, The Pennsylvania State University; Joshua Rivenbark, Duke University; Joy Piontak, Duke University; Candice Odgers, Duke University

• Feeling, not just being, poor predicts adolescents’ mental health and educational success - Presenting Author: Candice Odgers, Duke University; Avshalom Caspi, Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Centre for Genomic and Computational Biology, Duke University; Andrea Danese, King's College London; Helen L. Fisher, MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London; Terrie M Moffitt, Duke University; Michael Arthur Russell, The Pennsylvania State University; Louise Arseneault, MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK