In research data collection, when I think about or attempt to measure socioeconomic status, my first question is regarding one’s income. Occasionally, I’ll consider other financial assets, such as home or car ownership, investments, and retirement accounts. For a more advanced understanding, I may even account for financial deficits, such as debts (e.g., credit cards and student loans), and dependents.
However, these objective measures of socioeconomic status don’t tell the whole story. How much we feel we have in financial resources may often tell a different narrative. One’s perceived social standing in society can have a strong influence on our physical and mental health.
A simple way to understand why socioeconomic status should not be viewed solely through objective data is to look at the lived experiences of two individuals making $100,000 a year — one living in New York City and the other in Wichita, Kansas. Based on the current median rents, let’s say the New Yorker lives on the Upper West Side, paying $3,800 a month for a small studio apartment, while the Midwesterner can comfortably afford a 2-bedroom house for $1,100 a month. In this scenario, the New Yorker spends over 50% of their monthly income solely on rent, while the individual in Kansas lives comfortably below the recommended 30% guideline for housing expenses. When accounting for other expenses such as food, transportation, and utilities, these two individuals would likely experience their incomes, and thus their subjective social status, quite differently.
Subjective social status is also influenced by social comparison. How individuals make sense of their social standing is often dependent on who they are around. This aspect of subjective social status further distinguishes it from objective measures, as past literature has found that these two variables do not inherently correlate. In psychology, our current understanding of subjective social status originates from social comparison theory, in which evaluating ourselves against others impacts our perceived status, regardless of our objective economic standing. Thus, the inclusion of both objective and subjective measures of social status is critical to gain a well-rounded understanding of how socioeconomic status impacts our health.
Ample research has demonstrated the relationships among objective and subjective social status, physical health, and mental health in the general population across the globe. A smaller body of literature has examined the role of subjective social status in the mental health and well-being of graduate students; a unique population given that most experience the associated costs of working adulthood despite their student status. The literature suggests that graduate students are similarly impacted by subjective social status, with lower perceived status associated with increased mental health symptoms and exacerbation of existing stress related to student loan debt. I spoke to two current psychology doctoral students who shared a similar sentiment about their debt and finances based on their perceived social status. When asked how she feels about her current financial situation compared to her peers, specifically related to debt, one student shared, “It’s not fun thinking about it, it’s not fun looking at it, I honestly dread it a lot, I try not to look at or think about it. It’s just a big number, and it’s a lot to weigh on you because by the end of it, I fear it’s going to be over $200k, so I try not to think about it because it’s a bit overwhelming.” Despite this student feeling relatively confident in her ability to repay her loans after graduating, the reality of her debt load relative to her higher perceived social status is insufficient to reduce any debt-related stress.
Given how expensive and difficult it is to obtain a doctoral degree in psychology, it is no surprise that some students have higher subjective social status, as access to financial resources throughout their lives made the dream of becoming a psychologist feel more realistic. One student I spoke to shared, “Because I grew up comfortable and I didn’t have any debt, it really put me in a unique position to dream big and think about possibilities and future realities, where if I had different circumstances, I would’ve had to think in a different way.”
Despite both students I interviewed likely having a higher subjective social status, they shared the same sentiment regarding their funding status, with one saying,
The other student shared similar feelings,
While student debt is typically associated with increased stress and mental health symptoms, it seems that subjective social status in these two students acts as a buffer against significant distress through feelings of socioeconomic empowerment due to career prospects and familial support.
Ultimately, based on current research and graduate students’ personal experiences, subjective social status may play a more important role in understanding mental health and well-being than we once thought. With the inclusion of subjective measures, we can not only better understand the role of perceived status in health but also explore new possibilities for interventions to reduce stress related to perceived status. One possible pathway is to strengthen the protective abilities of subjective social status by encouraging more transparent conversations about income and debt to help individuals, particularly young adults and students, realize they are not alone in their financial hardships.
