Subjective social status, a new measure in health disparities research: do race/ethnicity and choice of referent group matter?
Studies have shown subjective social status (SSS) is associated with multiple health outcomes. This article examines the predictors of SSS, whether these associations vary by race/ethnicity, and whether SSS is sensitive to different referents used for social comparison. Data were from a national US mail survey. Income was strongly associated with SSS only among Whites and Hispanics. While there were no SSS differences by race/ethnicity using a distal referent, Blacks had higher SSS than Whites when using more proximal referents, even after controlling for objective status indicators. Findings indicate SSS measurement may be sensitive to race/ethnicity and the comparison referent.
Wolff
Lisa S
LS
Research and Evaluation, Health Resources in Action, 95 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116, USA. LWolff@hria.org
Acevedo-Garcia
Dolores
D
Subramanian
S V
SV
Weber
Deanne
D
Kawachi
Ichiro
I
D002755:Choice Behavior; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors