Cross-national analysis of the association between subjective social status and health.

Date

Access rights

Worldwide access.
Access changed 12/11/19.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

Socioeconomic discrepancies and their associations with health have been a persistent issue in the sociology of health and illness across the globe. Throughout the extensive research effort, subjective social status (SSS) has emerged as a relevant tool for social science and health researchers to investigate socioeconomic disparities in health. Despite the increasing evidences of a significant relationship between SSS and health, most of the findings have been drawn from Western countries. We have little knowledge about how SSS could be associated with health and illness in other countries like Asia and possible explanations of a different social and cultural context. Drawing on cross-national multiple data sets at the individual levels, the three national analyses in this project demonstrate the influence of SSS on a wide range of physical and mental health outcomes of mid and later life adult populations in South Korea, the United States, and a metropolitan area in Japan. The findings for each study are discussed. This study concludes with implications for policy and suggestions for future research.

Description

Keywords

Subjective social status. Health disparities. Socioeconomic inequality.

Citation