The Status Importance Scale: Development and validation of a self-report questionnaire for measuring how much people care about status

Although substantial research indicates that considerations about status can lead to anxiety and other negative outcomes, a valid measure of the importance individuals attribute to status is lacking. This paper introduces the Status Importance Scale (SIS), a mono-factorial 10-item self-report questionnaire that quantifies how important a person deems status to be. Five studies validate the scale showing that it has excellent internal reliability and acceptable test-retest reliability, it correlates with several related measures (supporting convergent validity), it shows little correlation with theoretically unrelated constructs (supporting discriminant validity), it is the best predictor of conspicuous consumption compared with other potential candidates (supporting concurrent validity), and it can help predicting which activities one gives importance to (further supporting concurrent validity). Finally, as hypothesized by previous literature, the last study reveals that the SIS can predict status anxiety. The SIS can contribute to research regarding important phenomena such as the detrimental psychological effects of income inequality.

Subjective economic inequality evokes interpersonal objectification

Interpersonal objectification, treating people as tools and neglecting their essential humanness, is a pervasive and enduring phenomenon. Across five studies (N = 1183), we examined whether subjective economic inequality increases objectification through a calculative mindset. Study 1 revealed that the perceptions of economic inequality at the national level and in daily life were positively associated with objectification. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated a causal relationship between subjective economic inequality and objectification in a fictitious organization and society, respectively. Moreover, the effect was mediated by a calculative mindset (Studies 3-4). In addition, lowering a calculative mindset weakened the effect of subjective inequality on objectification (Study 4). Finally, increased objectification due to subjective inequality further decreased prosociality and enhanced exploitative intentions (Study 5). Taken together, our findings suggest that subjective economic inequality increases objectification, which further causes adverse interpersonal interactions.

The mediating role of attributions of poverty and wealth in the relationship between perceptions of economic inequality and redistribution preferences

Previous research has identified that the relationship between perceived economic inequality and supporting redistribution is mediated by beliefs about what causes poverty. Despite its usefulness, this approach has failed to recognize the role of perceived causes of wealth in explaining the relationship between these two variables. We conducted correlational (N = 523) and experimental (N = 226) studies, demonstrating that in contexts with high inequality, attributing poverty and wealth primarily to external factors resulted in greater support for redistribution. Furthermore, the attributions that served as mediators varied depending on the proposed redistributive measure. We delve into the significance of wealth attributional processes in understanding attitudes toward redistribution.

Perceived economic inequality enlarges the perceived humanity gap between low- and high-socioeconomic status groups

In this paper, we analyze the influence of the perceived level of economic inequality in daily life on people's recognition of the perceived humanity gap between low- and high-socioeconomic groups within society. To achieve this purpose, in Studies 1A-B, we analyzed the relationship between economic inequality and the humanity gap. In Studies 2A-B, we manipulated the level of inequality (low vs. high) to identify differences in the humanity gap. Results indicated that higher perceptions of economic inequality lead individuals to recognize a wider humanity gap between low- and high-socioeconomic groups in society. Implications are discussed.

Elite class self-interest, socioeconomic inequality and U.S. population health

Class-based perspectives on the persistent social gradients in health within modern welfare states largely focus on the adverse consequences of unfettered neoliberalism and entrenched meritocratic socioeconomic selection. Namely, neoliberal-driven economic inequality has fuelled resentment and stress among lower-status groups, while these groups have become more homogeneous with regard to health behaviours and outcomes. We synthesise several sociological and historical literatures to argue that, in addition to these class-based explanations, socioeconomic inequality may contribute to persistent social gradients in health due to elite class self-interest-in particular elites' preferences for overdiagnosis, overprescription and costly high-technology medical treatments over disease prevention, and for increased tolerance for regulatory capture. We demonstrate that this self-interest provides parsimonious explanations for several contemporary trends in U.S. health inequality including (A) supply-side factors in drug-related deaths, (B) longitudinal trends in the social gradients of obesity and chronic disease mortality and (C) the immigrant health advantage. We conclude that sociological theories of elite class self-interest usefully complement theories of the psychosocial effects of neoliberalism and of meritocratic social selection while answering recent calls for research on the role advantaged groups play in generating inequalities in health, and for research that moves beyond technological determinism in health sociology.

Individual values predict desiring more economic inequality: The moderator role of social mobility

Attitudes towards economic inequality are crucial to uphold structural economic inequality in democratic societies. Previous research has shown that socioeconomic status, political ideology, and the objective level of economic inequality associated with individuals' attitudes towards economic inequality. However, some have suggested that people are aware of the individual and social features that are more functional according to the level of economic inequality. Therefore, individual predispositions such as cultural values could also predict these attitudes. In the current research, we expand previous results testing whether cultural variables at the individual level predict attitudes towards economic inequality. After analysing survey data including samples from 52 countries (N = 89,565), we found that self-enhancement values predict positively, and self-transcendence negatively, attitudes towards economic inequality as the ideal economic inequality measures. This result remained significant even after controlling by socioeconomic status, political ideology, and objective economic inequality. However, this effect is only true in high and middle social mobility countries, but not in countries with low social mobility. The present research highlights how cultural values and country social mobility are crucial factors to addressing attitudes towards economic inequality.

Relationship between social inequality perception patterns and depressive symptoms among Chinese adults: A national representative longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

The rising prevalence of depressive symptoms presents a pressing global public health concern, exacerbated by prevailing social inequality.

AIM

This study seeks to identify latent profiles of social inequality perception and explore their associations with depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) involving 10,529 residents aged 18 years and above. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify different patterns of social inequality perception. Multiple linear regression analysis examined the links between these patterns and depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

Three distinct patterns of social inequality perception were identified: the disappointed pattern (TDP), the neutral pattern (TNP), and the positive pattern (TPP). Perceived social inequality was significantly associated with short-term and long-term depressive symptoms (β = .51, 95% CI [0.29, 0.72] vs. β = .51, 95% CI [0.27, 0.74]). Increases in social inequality perception patterns were also related to more severe depressive symptoms (β = .55, 95% CI [0.36, 0.74]).

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing perceived social inequality is closely linked to elevated depressive symptoms in Chinese adults. This underscores the need for tailored strategies aimed at addressing heightened perceptions of social inequality to reduce the risk of depressive symptoms.

Causal Assessment of Income Inequality on Self-Rated Health and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Policy Points Income is thought to impact a broad range of health outcomes. However, whether income inequality (how unequal the distribution of income is in a population) has an additional impact on health is extensively debated. Studies that use multilevel data, which have recently increased in popularity, are necessary to separate the contextual effects of income inequality on health from the effects of individual income on health. Our systematic review found only small associations between income inequality and poor self-rated health and all-cause mortality. The available evidence does not suggest causality, although it remains methodologically flawed and limited, with very few studies using natural experimental approaches or examining income inequality at the national level.

CONTEXT

Whether income inequality has a direct effect on health or is only associated because of the effect of individual income has long been debated. We aimed to understand the association between income inequality and self-rated health (SRH) and all-cause mortality (mortality) and assess if these relationships are likely to be causal.

METHODS

We searched Medline, ISI Web of Science, Embase, and EconLit (PROSPERO: CRD42021252791) for studies considering income inequality and SRH or mortality using multilevel data and adjusting for individual-level socioeconomic position. We calculated pooled odds ratios (ORs) for poor SRH and relative risk ratios (RRs) for mortality from random-effects meta-analyses. We critically appraised included studies using the Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies - of Interventions tool. We assessed certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework and causality using Bradford Hill (BH) viewpoints.

FINDINGS

The primary meta-analyses included 2,916,576 participants in 38 cross-sectional studies assessing SRH and 10,727,470 participants in 14 cohort studies of mortality. Per 0.05-unit increase in the Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, the ORs and RRs (95% confidence intervals) for SRH and mortality were 1.06 (1.03-1.08) and 1.02 (1.00-1.04), respectively. A total of 63.2% of SRH and 50.0% of mortality studies were at serious risk of bias (RoB), resulting in very low and low certainty ratings, respectively. For SRH and mortality, we did not identify relevant evidence to assess the specificity or, for SRH only, the experiment BH viewpoints; evidence for strength of association and dose-response gradient was inconclusive because of the high RoB; we found evidence in support of temporality and plausibility.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased income inequality is only marginally associated with SRH and mortality, but the current evidence base is too methodologically limited to support a causal relationship. To address the gaps we identified, future research should focus on income inequality measured at the national level and addressing confounding with natural experiment approaches.

Measuring Subjective Inequality: Development and Validation of the Perceived Economic Inequality Scale (PEIS)

The main goal of the present research is to develop and validate the Perceived Economic Inequality Scale (PEIS), an instrument measuring individuals' perceptions of economic inequality at the national level. The study was conducted on a representative sample of the Italian population (N = 1,446, 51% women). The factorial structure of the scale was assessed through cross-validated exploratory-confirmatory factor analyses. To inspect the PEIS psychometric properties, item and correlation analyses were performed. The results showed that the PEIS is a valid and reliable unidimensional measure of perceived economic inequality at the national level. Further support of the PEIS construct validity was provided by the correlation of the scale score with the perceived wage gap and ideological beliefs like the economic system justification, social dominance orientation, meritocratic beliefs, and participants' political orientation. Crucially, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis supported configural, metric, and scalar invariances of the scale across socio-demographic groups. The PEIS allows researchers to assess the subjective component of economic inequality by also serving as a useful tool for unpacking the psychological correlates of perceived inequality.

The social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence, prevention and recommendations

People exposed to more unfavourable social circumstances are more vulnerable to poor mental health over their life course, in ways that are often determined by structural factors which generate and perpetuate intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and poor health. Addressing these challenges is an imperative matter of social justice. In this paper we provide a roadmap to address the social determinants that cause mental ill health. Relying as far as possible on high-quality evidence, we first map out the literature that supports a causal link between social determinants and later mental health outcomes. Given the breadth of this topic, we focus on the most pervasive social determinants across the life course, and those that are common across major mental disorders. We draw primarily on the available evidence from the Global North, acknowledging that other global contexts will face both similar and unique sets of social determinants that will require equitable attention. Much of our evidence focuses on mental health in groups who are marginalized, and thus often exposed to a multitude of intersecting social risk factors. These groups include refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons, as well as ethnoracial minoritized groups; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) groups; and those living in poverty. We then introduce a preventive framework for conceptualizing the link between social determinants and mental health and disorder, which can guide much needed primary prevention strategies capable of reducing inequalities and improving population mental health. Following this, we provide a review of the evidence concerning candidate preventive strategies to intervene on social determinants of mental health. These interventions fall broadly within the scope of universal, selected and indicated primary prevention strategies, but we also briefly review important secondary and tertiary strategies to promote recovery in those with existing mental disorders. Finally, we provide seven key recommendations, framed around social justice, which constitute a roadmap for action in research, policy and public health. Adoption of these recommendations would provide an opportunity to advance efforts to intervene on modifiable social determinants that affect population mental health.

The psychological imprint of inequality: Economic inequality shapes achievement and power values in human life

OBJECTIVE

This research investigates how economic inequality shapes basic human values across three cross-national, cross-regional, and longitudinal studies (Ntotal  = 219,697).

METHODS

Study 1 examined the relationship between objective economic inequality and values across 77 societies from all five continents (n = 170,525). Study 2 examined the relationship between objective economic inequality and values across 51 regions in the United States (n = 48,559). Study 3 used a two-year longitudinal design to examine the relationship between perceived economic inequality and values (n = 613).

RESULTS

Results from multilevel modeling and longitudinal analysis suggested that people who lived in areas with higher economic inequality and who perceived higher economic inequality were more likely to endorse achievement and power values. Moreover, people who perceived higher economic inequality were less likely to endorse benevolence values. These effects were robust in within-country tests (Studies 2 and 3) but not in the cross-country tests (Study 1) when accounting for sociodemographic characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that economic inequality may act as an antecedent of self-enhancement values, particularly within countries. In a world of rising economic inequality, this may over time lead to an overemphasis on achievement and power which have been shown to erode social cohesion.

Self-perceptions as mechanisms of achievement inequality: evidence across 70 countries

Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds tend to have more negative self-perceptions. More negative self-perceptions are often related to lower academic achievement. Linking these findings, we asked: Do children's self-perceptions help explain socioeconomic disparities in academic achievement around the world? We addressed this question using data from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, including n = 520,729 records of 15-year-old students from 70 countries. We studied five self-perceptions (self-perceived competency, self-efficacy, growth mindset, sense of belonging, and fear of failure) and assessed academic achievement in terms of reading achievement. As predicted, across countries, children's self-perceptions jointly and separately partially mediated the association between socioeconomic status and reading achievement, explaining additional 11% (ΔR2 = 0.105) of the variance in reading achievement. The positive mediation effect of self-perceived competency was more pronounced in countries with higher social mobility, indicating the importance of environments that "afford" the use of beneficial self-perceptions. While the results tentatively suggest self-perceptions, in general, to be an important lever to address inequality, interventions targeting self-perceived competency might be particularly effective in counteracting educational inequalities in countries with higher social mobility.

A longitudinal study of perceived social position and health-related quality of life

BACKGROUND

A large body of evidence suggests that there is a social gradient in the association between perceived social position and various health outcomes. Yet only a fraction of this research uses longitudinal data, and these studies usually rely on two data points in time, consider a single health outcome measure, overlook non-linear effects of perceived social position, and come almost exclusively from the Western welfare democracies.

METHODS

Using data for 1921 individuals from three waves (2008, 2013, 2018) of the Polish Panel Survey (POLPAN), we fit between- and within-individuals hybrid-effects models with cluster-robust standard errors to investigate the association between one's perceived social position (self-placement on a socioeconomic hierarchy scale varying 1 to 10) and subsequent health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measured using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and its six components.

RESULTS

We find that the association between perceived social position and health-related quality of life is larger when estimated between individuals than within individuals, yet in fixed- and hybrid-effects models perceived social position remains significantly and negatively linked with both the aggregated NHP measure as well as with its components such as emotional reaction, physical abilities, sleep, and social isolation. We also identify that starting to perceive oneself at the lower end of the social hierarchy is associated with a deteriorating health-related quality of life but a change at the top of the perceived social hierarchy is not linked with an improvement in NHP scores.

CONCLUSIONS

We provide new evidence on the significant and non-linear links between perceived social position and health-related quality of life and highlight possible pathways linking these two aspects of individuals' lives.

Effect of economic inequality on generosity: A social norm perspective

Economic inequality has been found to reduce individuals' generosity in western contexts. However, whether this effect is cross-culturally consistent and its internal mechanism remain unclear, as well as how to mitigate this impact. Hence, we explored whether and why economic inequality may erode generosity in a sample of Chinese adults from the social norm perspective and introduced the equal allocation norm to mitigate this effect. Four online studies were conducted: two were correlational (Study 1: n = 300; Study 2: n = 568) and two were experimental (Study 3: n = 289; Study 4: n = 500). Results showed that economic inequality predicted less generosity in the dictator game, and perceived unequal allocation norm accounted for this effect. Moreover, introducing the equal allocation norm could buffer this negative effect. Findings suggest economic inequality impairs generosity, and making the equal allocation norm more salient may guide people to act more generously.

Economic Inequality Fosters the Belief That Success Is Zero-Sum

Ten studies (N = 3,628; including five pre-registered), using correlational and experimental methods and employing various measures and manipulations, reveal that perceived economic inequality fosters zero-sum beliefs about economic success-the belief that one person's gains are inevitably offset by others' losses. As the gap between the rich and the poor expands, American participants increasingly believed that one can only get richer at others' expense. Moreover, perceptions of economic inequality fostered zero-sum beliefs even when the distribution of resources was not strictly zero-sum and did so beyond the effect of various demographics variables (household income, education, subjective socioeconomic status) and individual differences (political ideology, social dominance orientation, interpersonal trust). Finally, I find that zero-sum beliefs account for the effect of inequality on people's view of the world as unjust. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of zero-sum beliefs about economic success.

Economic inequality increases the number of hours worked and decreases work-life balance perceptions: longitudinal and experimental evidence

International institutions' attention to work-life balance (WLB) demonstrates the global breadth of this issue. Yet the scientific community has thus far paid little attention to its structural underpinnings and to the interplay between these macro-level underpinnings and individual psychological factors. We examine the contextual role of economic inequality at the national level as a significant factor influencing working time and WLB perceptions using multiple empirical strategies. In the first set of studies (1a and 1b), we compared countries with different levels of inequality (Study 1a with 37 countries, Study 1b with longitudinal data from 34 countries, N = 254) and found increased working time and reduced WLB in highly unequal countries. In a pilot study (N = 81) and in the pre-registered Studies 2 (N = 338) and 3 (N = 499) we corroborated this evidence with an experimentally induced inequality perception, reporting an indirect effect of inequality on WLB (Studies 2 and 3) and working time (Study 3) through status anxiety and competitiveness. In Study 2, we manipulated socio-economic class in addition to economic inequality, showing that the detrimental effect of inequality on WLB is especially marked for participants assigned to a low-class condition. This research contributes to an integrated understanding of the impact of economic inequality and socio-economic class in shaping WLB and provides useful insights for organizations to develop context-specific policies to improve employees' WLB that take both individual and structural factors into account.

Unequally Unequal? Contextual-level status inequality and social cohesion moderating the association between individual-level socioeconomic position and systemic chronic inflammation

BACKGROUND

Status inequality is hypothesised to increase socioeconomic inequalities in health by creating an environment in which social cohesion erodes and social comparisons intensify. Such an environment may cause systemic chronic inflammation. Although these are often-used explanations in social epidemiology, empirical tests remain rare.

METHODS

We analysed data from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. Our sample consisted of 1977 participants in 499 small residential areas. Systemic chronic inflammation was measured by high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP; <10 mg/L). An area-level measurement of status inequality was created using census data and contextual-level social cohesion was measured applying ecometrics. We estimated linear multilevel models with cross-level interactions between socioeconomic position (SEP), status inequality, and social cohesion adjusted for age and gender. Our main analysis on postcode sector-level was re-estimated on three smaller spatial levels.

RESULTS

The difference in hs-CRP between disadvantaged and advantaged SEPs (0.806 mg/L; p = 0.063; [95%CI: -0.044; 1.656]) was highest among participants living in areas where most residents were in advantaged SEPs. In these status distributions, high social cohesion was associated with a shallower socioeconomic gradient in hs-CRP and low social cohesion was associated with a steeper gradient. In areas with an equal mix of SEPs or most residents in disadvantaged SEPs, the estimated difference in hs-CRP between disadvantaged and advantaged SEPs was -0.039 mg/L (p = 0.898; [95%CI: 0.644; 0.566]) and -0.257 mg/L (p = 0.568; [95%CI: 1.139; 0.625]) respectively. In these status distributions, the gradient in hs-CRP appeared steeper when social cohesion was high and potentially reversed when social cohesion was low. Results were broadly consistent when using area-levels smaller than postcode sectors.

CONCLUSIONS

Inequalities in hs-CRP were greatest among participants living in areas wherein a majority of residents were in advantaged SEPs and social cohesion was low. In other combinations of these contextual characteristics, inequalities in systemic chronic inflammation were not detectable or potentially even reversed.

A Competitiveness-Based Theoretical Framework on the Psychology of Income Inequality

Social scientists have begun to extensively study how living in contexts with high income inequality affects psychological outcomes. Herein we overview a conceptual framework that integrates, organizes, and extends these complex (and sometimes contradictory) findings. First, we describe studies showing that income inequality breeds an ethos of competitiveness. Second, we argue that the inequality-competitiveness relation explains why income inequality (a) promotes status-focused behaviors aimed at lifting oneself up and/or bringing others down, (b) harms social relations when they pose an obstacle to one's economic advancement, (c) exerts opposing effects on well-being via avoidance motivation (focusing on the risk of economic failure) and approach motivation (focusing on the prospect of economic success), and (d) represents a threat to those who perceive they do not have sufficient individual/contextual resources to cope with the demands of competition but a challenge to those with sufficient resources. We also discuss limitations and future directions for research.

Wage (in)equality matters: the effect of organizational economic inequality on others' and self-ascriptions

Economic inequality has consequences at the social-psychological level, such as in the way people make inferences about their environment and other people. In the present two preregistered studies, we used a paradigm of an organizational setting to manipulate economic inequality and measured ascriptions of agentic versus communal traits to employees and the self. In Study 1 (N = 187), participants attributed more agency than communion to a middle-status employee, and more communion than agency when economic equality was salient. In Study 2 (N = 198) this finding was replicated. Further, this inequality-agency association was explained by perceptions of competitive employee relationships. Results, moreover, suggested that participants mainly attributed more communion than agency to themselves in the equality condition. We conclude that agency and communion ascriptions may be functional and thus inform about the expectations people have on the nature of social relationships in the face of economic inequality.

Does income inequality increase status anxiety? Not directly, the role of perceived upward and downward mobility

Status anxiety theory posits that higher income inequality leads people to attribute more importance to their socioeconomic status and to worry about the position they occupy on the social ladder. We investigated through two experimental studies (N = 1117) the causal effect of economic inequality on status anxiety and whether expected upward and downward mobility mediates this effect. In Study 1, perceived economic inequality indirectly increased status anxiety through lesser expected upward mobility. In Study 2, perceived economic inequality decreased both expected upward and downward mobility, with opposite indirect effects on status anxiety. This suggests that the relationship between inequality and status anxiety is not straightforward, and could implicate the presence of multiple processes working at the same time-whereas lower expected downward mobility could suppress the effect of inequality, lower expected upward mobility could exacerbate it.

Turning their backs on the 'ladder of success'? Unexpected responses to the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status

Subjective social status measures a person's perception of their social class relative to other people and has theoretically and empirically been positively associated with health and wellbeing. A widely used measure of this construct is the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, which asks people to report their social status by placing themselves on a ladder which represents the social hierarchy of their society or community; the scale has been used with many different populations across many countries. In this research note, we describe two cases where we encountered unexpected reactions to the MacArthur Scale that we believe highlight (a) the salience of relative social status for people's wellbeing in contemporary society and (b) the concomitant sensitivities raised by measuring this subjective experience. We discuss the implications of these observations for future research.

Turning their backs on the 'ladder of success'? Unexpected responses to the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status

Subjective social status measures a person's perception of their social class relative to other people and has theoretically and empirically been positively associated with health and wellbeing. A widely used measure of this construct is the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status, which asks people to report their social status by placing themselves on a ladder which represents the social hierarchy of their society or community; the scale has been used with many different populations across many countries. In this research note, we describe two cases where we encountered unexpected reactions to the MacArthur Scale that we believe highlight (a) the salience of relative social status for people's wellbeing in contemporary society and (b) the concomitant sensitivities raised by measuring this subjective experience. We discuss the implications of these observations for future research.

How do digital lives affect resident mental health in the digital era? Empirical evidence based on Chinese general social survey

Having good mental health means we are better able to connect, function, cope and thrive. The widespread application of digital technology in daily life provides new ways and promising tools for residents to maintain their mental health. Given the importance of mental health for everyone, and the fact that mental health problems are prevalent worldwide, this study discusses how digital lives affects the mental health of residents. The results suggest that digital lives are significantly and positively associated with mental health. Mechanisms analysis identifies personal perceptions (self-rated physical exercise and subjective wellbeing) as the important paths for digital lives to promote mental health, while social perceptions (social trust and social fairness) play a suppressing effect on the relationship between them. The results of further discussion show that the degree of the influence of digital lives on mental health of individuals is heterogeneous among different regions. Due to the difference in development level, the positive impact of digital lives is greater in urban areas than in rural areas, and it is stronger in western regions than in eastern and central regions. This study enriches the nascent research stream of digitalization, explores new paths of harnessing digital technologies for mental health, and offers useful insights for the government to guide them in formulating digital development strategies and achieving the Healthy China Strategy.

Changing associations between socioeconomic status and self-reported discrimination from the 1990s to the 2010s in the United States

We examined whether prevalence of social class discrimination-and its association with psychological distress-has changed between 1990s and 2010s in the United States. Data were from the original Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study with data collections in 1995-1996 (n = 2931) and 2004-2005 (n = 1708), and the new MIDUS Refresher sample from 2011 to 2014 (n = 2543). Socioeconomic status (SES) became more strongly associated with self-rated discrimination over time, with individuals with the lowest SES experiencing more discrimination (B = 0.75, p < .001) and those with the highest SES less discrimination (B = 0.36, p < .001) over time: at baseline, the difference in self-rated discrimination between the highest and lowest SES groups was 15.3% versus 10.8% (4.7% point difference). This difference increased to 20.0% versus 7.4% in the last study wave (12.6% point difference). Association between self-reported discrimination and psychological distress strengthened over time, but the associations between socioeconomic indicators and distress did not change. The results suggest that people with low SES had higher risk of encountering unfair and disrespectful treatment in the 2010s compared to the 1990s.

Developmental Perspectives on Social Inequalities and Human Rights

Social inequalities and human rights are inevitably linked to children's and adolescents' healthy development. Children who experience structural and interpersonal inequalities in access to resources and opportunities based on their gender, race, ethnicity, or other group categories are denied the right to fair treatment. We assert that investigating the psychological perspectives that children hold regarding inequalities and human rights is necessary for creating fair and just societies. We take a constructivist approach to this topic which seeks to understand how individuals interpret and evaluate observed and experienced inequalities. Even young children think about these issues. Yet, throughout development, individuals must often weigh multiple, potentially conflicting considerations when interpreting, evaluating, and responding to social inequalities and rights violations. In these complex contexts, children and adolescents are neither fully "moral" nor fully "prejudiced." Rather, critical questions for research in this area concern when, why, and for whom young people reject inequalities and support rights, and, by contrast, when, why, and for whom they accept that inequalities and rights violations should be allowed to persist. This paper provides a brief overview of how different conceptions of social inequalities and rights are intrinsically linked together.

State level income inequality affects cardiovascular stress responses: Evidence from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study

RATIONALE

The slow and insidious effects of income inequality on health means that their effects can be difficult to reveal, taking many years to become apparent. These effects can also be experienced differently according to subjective status and ethnicity making the relation between income inequality and health difficult to understand. Cardiovascular reactions to acute stress are indicative of future health outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether short to medium term income inequality affected cardiovascular responses to acute stress whilst accounting for ethnic groups and subjective status.

METHOD

Participants state of residence was available for 1155 people who participated in the MIDUS biomarker data project. This detail was used to merge the relevant US state level inequality data 1, 5, 10 and 15 years prior to the MIDUS biomarker data project which assessed cardiovascular responses to acute stress.

RESULTS

Our analysis demonstrated an association between inequality 5, 10 and 15 year prior and cardiovascular reactions to acute stress. Subjective community status and Black and minority ethnic group membership interacted to affect the association between inequality and cardiovascular reactions.

CONCLUSIONS

In states where income inequality was high, less healthy cardiovascular responses were evident. However lower subjective community status and Black and Ethnic minority group members interacted with income inequality such that their impact was variable contingent on state level inequality. These findings extend the literature on income inequality and health and particularly highlights a psychophysiology pathway linking income inequality and health.

What about diversity? The effect of organizational economic inequality on the perceived presence of women and ethnic minority groups

Economic inequality shapes the degree to which people and different social groups are perceived in stereotypical ways. Our research sought to investigate the impact of the perception of economic inequality in an organizational setting on expectations of social diversity in the organization's workforce, across the dimensions of gender and ethnicity. Combining data from previous experiments, we first explored in one set of studies (Studies 1a and 1b; N = 378) whether the degree of economic inequality in a fictitious organization affected participants' expectations of the representation of minority vs. majority group employees. We found that when we presented an organization with unequal (vs. equal) distribution of economic wealth amongst its employees to study participants, they expected the presence of men and White majority individuals to be larger than the presence of women and ethnic minorities. Second, we tested our hypotheses and replicated these initial effects in a pre-registered study (Study 2: N = 449). Moreover, we explored the potential mediating role of perceived diversity climate, that is, the perception that the organization promotes and deals well with demographic diversity. Findings revealed that an organizational setting that distributed resources unequally (vs. equally) was associated with a more adverse diversity climate, which, in turn, correlated with expectations of a lower presence of minority group employees in the organization. We concluded that economic inequality creates a context that modulates perceptions of a climate of social exclusion which likely affects the possibilities for members of disadvantaged groups to participate and develop in organizations.

So close yet so different: Neighborhood inequality and child maltreatment

BACKGROUND

Extensive research has documented the importance of neighborhood contextual factors in shaping maltreatment risk. Evidence is limited about the role of economic inequality within neighborhoods, which has increased substantially in the US over the past decade.

OBJECTIVE

This study examines the relationship between neighborhood-level inequality and child maltreatment risk, paying particular attention to the cross-level interactions between neighborhood inequality and family income.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A population-based cohort of 4,898 children born in large US cities was sampled in 1998-2000 and followed up at ages 1, 3, 5, and 9.

METHOD

A set of regression models was analyzed to estimate the associations of family income, neighborhood inequality (operationalized as terciles of the Gini coefficient), and the interaction of these with child maltreatment risk, operationalized as physical abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, CPS involvement, and spanking.

RESULTS

Low-income was associated with higher risks of neglect and CPS involvement, but not physical abuse, psychological abuse, or spanking. Among low-income families, higher neighborhood inequality was associated with lower likelihood of spanking. Among higher-income families, higher neighborhood inequality levels were associated with higher risks of physical abuse, yet lower risks of psychological abuse.

CONCLUSION

Our findings align with previous studies showing mixed results on the relationship between neighborhood inequality and health outcomes. Those results may suggest that the effect of low-income itself is more important than the neighborhood context. Further research is needed to identify the determinants of inequality at the neighborhood level and the underlying mechanisms of its association with child maltreatment risks.

Hormonal contraceptives as disruptors of competitive behavior: Theoretical framing and review

Emerging evidence suggests that hormonal contraceptives (HCs) impact psychological outcomes through alterations in neurophysiology. In this review, we first introduce a theoretical framework for HCs as disruptors of steroid hormone modulation of socially competitive attitudes and behaviors. Then, we comprehensively examine prior research comparing HC users and non-users in outcomes related to competition for reproductive, social, and financial resources. Synthesis of 46 studies (n = 16,290) led to several key conclusions: HC users do not show the same menstrual cycle-related fluctuations in self-perceived attractiveness and some intrasexual competition seen in naturally-cycling women and, further, may show relatively reduced status- or achievement-oriented competitive motivation. However, there a lack of consistent or compelling evidence that HC users and non-users differ in competitive behavior or attitudes for mates or financial resources. These conclusions are tentative given the notable methodological limitations of the studies reviewed. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Does Income Class Affect Life Satisfaction? New Evidence from Cross-Country Microdata

This paper analyzes the impact of income class on subjective wellbeing. Using rich data from the Gallup World Poll, we investigate whether belonging to locally (both country- and time-specific) defined income classes influences individuals’ life satisfaction. We rely on a latent class analysis estimation method, using individual income proxied by household income divided by household size, as an observable characteristic to hypothesize the income classes. We fit a model with one categorical latent variable with three unobserved groupings, here: income classes, which we interpret as lower, middle and upper classes. Our estimates suggest that individuals in the low and middle income classes are, respectively, about 30 and 17 percent of a standard deviation less likely to report a higher life satisfaction in comparison to individuals belonging to the upper income class. The effect of income classes remains robust to the inclusion of standard explanatory variables in this literature.

Lower class people suffered more (but perceived fewer risk disadvantages) during the COVID-19 pandemic

Does COVID-19 affect people of all classes equally? In the current research, we focus on the social issue of risk inequality during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a nationwide survey conducted in China (N = 1,137), we predicted and found that compared to higher-class individuals, lower-class participants reported a stronger decline in self-rated health as well as economic well-being due to the COVID-19 outbreak. At the same time, we examined participants' beliefs regarding the distribution of risks. The results demonstrated that although lower-class individuals were facing higher risks, they expressed lesser belief in such a risk inequality than their higher-class counterparts. This tendency was partly mediated by their stronger endorsement of system-justifying beliefs. The findings provide novel evidence of the misperception of risk inequality among the disadvantaged in the context of COVID-19. Implications for science and policy are discussed.

Economic inequality shapes the agency–communion content of gender stereotypes

Economic inequality is a main issue in current societies, and it affects people’s psychological processes. In this research, we propose that perceived economic inequality might affect how people perceive men and women. In two experiments carried out in Spain ( N = 170) and Mexico ( N = 215), we tested whether high (vs. low) economic inequality leads to changes in the perceived agency and communion of both men and women. Our findings suggest that when economic inequality is high (vs. low), the communal content in social perceptions of both men and women decreases. Specifically, under high (vs. low) inequality, the difference in agency and communion ascribed to a man becomes greater (i.e., men are perceived as even more agentic than communal), whereas this difference becomes smaller for women (i.e., women are still perceived as more communal than agentic, but this difference is smaller). We discuss these findings’ implications regarding the psychosocial effects of economic inequality.

Association between indigenous status and Body Mass Index (BMI) in Australian adults: Does sleep duration affect the relationship?

Background

Overweight/obesity is a well-defined risk factor for a variety of chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Sleep duration has been associated with overweight/obesity and other cardio metabolic and neurocognitive problems. Notably, overweight/obesity and many of the associated comorbidities are prevalent in Indigenous Australians. Generally, sleep duration has been associated with BMI for Australian adults but information about Australian Indigenous adults’ sleep is scant. A recent report established that sleep is a weak predictor of obesity for Indigenous Australian adults.

Aim

To determine whether sleep remains a predictor of obesity when physical activity, diet and smoking status are accounted for; and to determine whether sleep duration plays a mediating role in the relationship between Indigenous status and BMI.

Methods

Statistical analyses of 5,886 Australian adults: 5236 non-Indigenous and 650 Indigenous people aged over 18 years who participated in the Australian Health Survey 2011–2013. Demographic and lifestyle characteristics were described by χ² and t-tests. ANOVA was used to determine the variables that significantly predicted BMI and sleep duration. Stepwise regression analyses were performed to determine the strongest significant predictors of BMI. Sleep duration was self-reported; BMI was calculated from measurement.

Results

The study revealed two main findings: (i) short sleep duration was an independent predictor of obesity (adjusted-R² = 0.056, p <0.0001); and (ii) controlling for sleep duration and other possible confounders, Indigenous status was a significant predictor of BMI overweight/obesity. Sleep duration played a weak, partial mediator role in this relationship. Increased BMI was associated with lower socioeconomic status and level of disadvantage of household locality for non-remote Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Conclusion

Indigenous status strongly predicted increased BMI. The effect was not mediated by the socioeconomic indicators but was partially mediated by sleep duration.

Assessing the causal relationship between income inequality and mortality and self-rated health: protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Income inequality has been linked to health and mortality. While there has been extensive research exploring the relationship, the evidence for whether the relationship is causal remains disputed. We describe the methods for a systematic review that will transparently assess whether a causal relationship exists between income inequality and mortality and self-rated health.

METHODS

We will identify relevant studies using search terms relating to income inequality, mortality, and self-rated health (SRH). Four databases will be searched: MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, EMBASE, and the National Bureau of Economic Research. The inclusion criteria have been developed to identify the study designs best suited to assess causality: multilevel studies that have conditioned upon individual income (or a comparable measure, such as socioeconomic position) and natural experiment studies. Risk of bias assessment of included studies will be conducted using ROBINS-I. Where possible, we will convert all measures of income inequality into Gini coefficients and standardize the effect estimate of income inequality on mortality/SRH. We will conduct random-effects meta-analysis to estimate pooled effect estimates when possible. We will assess causality using modified Bradford Hill viewpoints and assess certainty using GRADE.

DISCUSSION

This systematic review protocol lays out the complexity of the relationship between income inequality and individual health, as well as our approach for assessing causality. Understanding whether income inequality impacts the health of individuals within a population has major policy implications. By setting out our methods and approach as transparently as we can, we hope this systematic review can provide clarity to an important topic for public policy and public health, as well as acting as an exemplar for other "causal reviews".

Changing attitudes toward redistribution: The role of perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of inequality

Modern societies are characterized by economic inequality. Redistributive policies are one of the means to reduce it. We argue that perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of it are central factors to enhance positive attitudes toward redistribution. To test it, we conducted a four-wave longitudinal panel study in Chile with a sample of 1221 college students (at T1 - baseline, 960 at T2, 926 at T3, and 787 at T4; Mage = 18.89). As expected, a cross-lagged longitudinal analysis controlled by household income confirmed a positive relationship between perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of inequality, which in turn was positively associated with support for redistributive policies. These results were stable and consistent over time, supporting the idea that perceived economic inequality in everyday life enhances positive attitudes toward redistribution by increasing intolerance of it. Results highlight the important role played by perceived inequality in everyday life.

How Do Russians Perceive and Justify the Status Quo: Insights From Adapting the System Justification Scales

This paper aims to adapt the system justification scales (general, political, economic, and gender) for the Russian socio-cultural context and to carry out their psychometric analysis. In Study 1 (N = 450), the original items from four system justification scales on a Russian sample were tested. The results suggested that none of the original scales worked properly in Russia and all of them demonstrated weak fit indices. In Study 2 (N = 553), culturally specific grounds for system justification in the Russian context were highlighted and tested. The results of this study confirmed that all the adapted scales demonstrated a good fit to the data. In Study 3 (N = 1,011), the invariance of system justification scales and the convergent and discriminant validity of the scales was tested. The results confirmed that the general, political, and economic system justification scales demonstrated full invariance, while the gender system justification scale showed partial invariance for multigroup comparison. All the scales convergent and discriminant validity, which leads to consider them as an effective tool for measuring system justification in various types of social relationships in Russia. The role of socio-cultural characteristics in justifying the status quo is discussed.

A Changing Landscape of Health Opportunity in the United States: Increases in the Strength of Association Between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Adult Health Between the 1990s and the 2010s

Understanding the changing health consequences of childhood socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) is highly relevant to policy debates on inequality and national and state goals to improve population health. However, changes in the strength of association between childhood SED and adult health over historic time are largely unexamined in the United States. The present study begins to address this knowledge gap. Data were from 2 national samples of adults collected in 1995 (n = 7,108) and 2012 (n = 3,577) as part of the Midlife in the United States study. Three measures of childhood SED (parents' occupational prestige, childhood poverty exposure, and parents' education) were combined into an aggregate index and examined separately. The association between childhood SED (aggregate index) and 5 health outcomes (body mass index, waist circumference, chronic conditions, functional limitations, and self-rated health) was stronger in the 2012 sample than the 1995 sample, with the magnitude of associations being approximately twice as large in the more recent sample. Results persisted after adjusting for age, sex, race, marital status, and number of children, and were similar across all 3 measures of childhood SED. The findings suggest that the socioeconomic circumstances of childhood might have become a stronger predictor of adult health in recent decades.

Being mindful in the tax context in Italy: Examining whether and how mindfulness relates with tax evasion intentions and support for tax progressivity

Two studies explored whether and how mindfulness relates with citizens’ tax evasion intentions and support for progressive tax rates. Based on theoretical and empirical grounds, in Study 1 (N = 1,175) we proposed that mindfulness would be negatively related with tax evasion intentions through decreased social dominance orientation. Drawing on Duckitt’s dual-process motivational model, in Study 2 (N = 722) we proposed that mindfulness would be positively related with support for progressive taxation through the mediation of lower competitive-jungle beliefs, and then lower social dominance orientation. Instead, we did not expect to find mediation of the link between mindfulness and support for progressive taxation through dangerous-world beliefs and right-wing authoritarianism. These studies inform about the motivational pathways through which mindfulness relates with tax evasion intentions and support for progressive taxation.

How economic inequality affects prosocial behavior in children across development

Research has linked economically unequal environments to lower prosocial behavior in adults. However, we know little about how inequality affects children's prosociality. Here, 4- to 9-year-old children (N = 128) played a series of games with several puppets where points were awarded. The distribution of points was characterized by either high inequality or low inequality. Children's donation behavior (i.e., the number of stickers they donated to a poor child), resource division behavior (i.e., how they divided extra points among poor and rich puppets), and fairness perceptions (i.e., how fair they perceived the game to be) were measured in response. Although the experimental manipulation of inequality did not affect children's donations, exploratory analyses revealed that higher inequality in children's home suburb was linked to lower donation rates. Furthermore, with age, children distributed points with increasing concern for poorer individuals, and negative judgments of the inequality were linked to distributing resources to poorer individuals. Here we present the first comprehensive analysis of children's prosocial reactions to high and low inequality across development.

What predicts perceived economic inequality? The roles of actual inequality, system justification, and fairness considerations

Past studies have mostly focused on investigating actual economic inequality with less work devoted to understanding perceived economic inequality and its antecedents. However, numerous studies have shown that perceived inequality is a strong predictor of psychological, political, and social outcomes and hence is an important outcome in and of itself. This paper aims to identify the socioecological (i.e., actual inequality) and psychological (legitimation and fairness considerations) antecedents of perceived economic inequality. We hypothesized that individuals who legitimized income inequality would perceive less inequality, whereas individuals who experienced unfairness engendered by income inequality would perceive more inequality. We utilized a nationally representative sample in China (N = 33,600 respondents nested within 25 provinces) and conducted multilevel longitudinal analyses to test our hypotheses. In line with our predictions, we found that legitimation of inequality was associated with less perceived inequality six years later, whereas unfairness was associated with more perceived inequality six years later. In addition, we found that in more unequal areas, people perceived less income inequality. These longitudinal effects were robust when controlling for prior years of perceived inequality, economic development, and sociodemographic factors. Findings have implications for system justification and economic inequality theories.