Objective: Research on subjective social status (SSS) and inflammation risk suffers from a lack of cross-cultural data as well as inconsistent findings between SSS and the biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP). The current study addressed these issues by examining possible cultural differences in the SSS-CRP link with anger control as an underlying mechanism while controlling for potential confounds such as wealth, education, and health factors. Method: Participants comprised 1,435 adults from the Biomarker Project of the MIDUS (American) and MIDJA (Japanese) studies. Participants’ SSS and tendency to control anger were assessed through surveys, and their CRP levels were measured through fasting blood samples. Results: Results showed that for Americans, CRP levels increased as SSS decreased, but for the Japanese, there was no relationship between SSS and CRP. Furthermore, this moderating effect of culture was mediated by anger control such that Americans controlled their anger less as SSS decreased, which then predicted higher levels of CRP, whereas the Japanese controlled their anger less as SSS increased, but this relationship did not predict CRP levels. These findings were specific to anger control (and not other varieties of anger) and robust to adjustment for a variety of potential confounds. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that culture exerts a moderating effect on the relationship between SSS and CRP, and this effect occurs through cultural differences in how SSS relates to anger control. The current study also highlights the need to consider cultural factors and psychosocial processes in further research on SSS and health.
Close relationships can be a source of positive subjective well-being for lower-class individuals, but stresses of lower-class environments tend to negatively impact those relationships. The present research demonstrates that a partner’s commitment in close relationships buffers against the negative impact of lower-class environments on relationships, mitigating social class differences in subjective well-being. In two samples of close relationship dyads, we found that when partners reported low commitment to the relationship, relatively lower-class individuals experienced poorer well-being than their upper-class counterparts, assessed as life satisfaction among romantic couples (Study 1) and negative affect linked to depression among ethnically diverse close friendships (Study 2). Conversely, when partners reported high commitment to the relationship, deficits in the well-being of lower-class relative to upper-class individuals were attenuated. Implications of these findings for upending the class divide in subjective well-being are discussed.
This meta-analysis tested if the links between socioeconomic standing (SES) and subjective well-being (SWB) differ by whether SES is assessed objectively or subjectively. The associations between measures of objective SES (i.e., income and educational attainment), subjective SES (i.e., the MacArthur ladder SES and perceived SES), and SWB (i.e., happiness and life satisfaction) were synthesized across 354 studies, totaling 2,352,095 participants. Overall, the objective SES and subjective SES measures were moderately associated (r = .32). The subjective SES-SWB association (r = .22) was larger than the objective SES-SWB association (r = .16). The income-SWB association (r = .23) was comparable to the ladder SES-SWB association (r = .22) but larger than the perceived SES-SWB association (r = .196). The education-SWB association (r = .12) was smaller than the associations with both measures of subjective SES. The subjective SES-SWB association was partially explained by common method variance. The subjective SES-SWB association, particularly with the ladder SES measure, also mediated the objective SES-SWB association. In moderation analyses, the objective SES-SWB associations strengthened as samples increased in wealth and population density. The subjective SES-SWB associations strengthened as samples increased in population density, decreased in income inequality and decreased in relative social mobility. The role of common method variance, social comparisons and other processes in explaining the SES-SWB links are discussed.
Drawing on a recent perspective that inconsistent class identities can negatively impact psychological outcomes, the current research explored if the relative benefit of higher subjective social class for life satisfaction would differ depending on whether it is consistent with one’s objective social class. In Study 1, across two independent samples from Singapore (N = 1045) and the US (N = 492), higher subjective social class predicted higher life satisfaction more strongly among those high in objective social class, but less strongly among those low in objective social class. In Study 2, these patterns were replicated in another large US sample (N = 1030), and appeared to be driven by lower status-based identity uncertainty (SBIU) linked to higher subjective social class perceptions among high objective social class participants. The role of class-identity perceptions in explaining social class disparities in subjective well-being is discussed.
The present research examines how warmth communications shape class-based patterns of political candidate support. Drawing on theory and evidence that lower-class individuals are more attuned to others, we predicted that, relative to upper-class individuals, they will modulate their trust and support in response to communications of warmth generated by and about political figures. In Experiment 1, lower-class compared to upper-class participants reported less trust and support for a political candidate who communicated his warmth in a campaign video, while no class differences emerged when he communicated competence or hostility to an opponent instead. In Experiment 2, lower-class compared to upper-class participants reported greater trust and support for a political figure whose warmth was communicated by a lower-class member, but no class difference emerged when the same communication was by an upper-class member. Implications for eliciting trust through warmth communication in cross-class interactions are discussed.
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