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ABSTRACT
Subjective social status (SSS) has been shown to predict well-being and mental health, above and beyond objective social status (OSS). However, little is known about the factors that moderate this relationship. Two studies explored whether the link between SSS and well-being varied depending upon the referent used for comparison in SSS judgments. Participants judged their well-being and SSS in comparison to referents that varied in abstraction. A confirmatory factor analysis on SSS judgments yielded two factors: (a) SSS perceptions toward global referents and (b) SSS perceptions toward local referents. SSS relative to a global referent was a better predictor of depression (Studies 1 and 2), life satisfaction (Studies 1 and 2), and self-esteem (Study 2) than SSS relative to a local referent. These findings have theoretical implications for understanding how people differentiate between local vs. global referents and practical implications for status-related health disparities.
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Notes
1. We also assessed objective social status by asking for parent education and income. Notably, our results did not meaningfully differ across Studies 1 and 2 when controlling for objective social status (i.e., parent education, parent income), race, or sex.
2. We also tested a 3 factor model. However, it is not presented here because there is not a sufficient theoretical basis for hypothesizing a 3 factor model, nor do we have a sufficient number of items to justify running this analysis. That said, fit indices for the hypothesized 2 factor model were superior to those of the 3 factor model.
3. Model fit could not be improved by removing referents.
4. We also ran each of the analyses including a Local × Global interaction term in the second step. The interaction term was not significant.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Heather M. Haught
Heather M. Haught, Jason Rose, Andrew Geers, and Jill A. Brown are affiliated with the Department of Psychology, University of Toledo.
Jason Rose
Heather M. Haught, Jason Rose, Andrew Geers, and Jill A. Brown are affiliated with the Department of Psychology, University of Toledo.
Andrew Geers
Heather M. Haught, Jason Rose, Andrew Geers, and Jill A. Brown are affiliated with the Department of Psychology, University of Toledo.
Jill A. Brown
Heather M. Haught, Jason Rose, Andrew Geers, and Jill A. Brown are affiliated with the Department of Psychology, University of Toledo.