Does intergenerational mobility shape psychological distress? Sorokin revisited

Houle, Jason N.; Martin, Molly A.

doi:10.1016/j.rssm.2010.11.001

Cited by 65 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…They have also been applied in health research (e.g. Claussen et al 2005, Houle 2011, Houle and Martin 2011, Monden et al 2003, Monden and de Graaf 2012. Central to this technique is the idea that immobile individuals represent the core of a specific social position.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The social gradient in preventive healthcare use: what can we learn from socially mobile individuals?

Missinne

Daenekindt

Bracke

2015

Sociology Health & Illness

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The social gradient in preventive healthcare use: what can we learn from socially mobile individuals?

Missinne

Daenekindt

Bracke

2015

Sociology Health & Illness

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“…By forcing people to leave the milieu in which they feel most comfortable and thus contributing to feelings of exclusion, loneliness and isolation, mobility is by Sorokin ([12], p. 522–523) seen as a source for psychological strain and distress. The dissociative theory was partly a response to the large amount of people who saw themselves moving upward in the social hierachy post World War II [13]. As a result, although this theory is centered around the belief that any type of class transition would be demanding, Sorokin put a lot of emphasis on negative and life changing implications of upward mobility ([12], p. 508–510).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intragenerational social mobility and functional somatic symptoms in a northern Swedish context: analyses of diagonal reference models

Jönsson

Sebastián

Hammarström

et al. 2017

Int J Equity Health

136

147

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BackgroundResearch indicate that social class mobility could be potentially important for health, but whether this is due to the movement itself or a result of people having been integrated in different class contexts is, to date, difficult to infer. In addition, although several theories suggest that transitions between classes in the social hierarchy can be stressful experiences, few studies have empirically examined whether such movements may have health effects, over and above the implications of “being” in these classes. In an attempt to investigate whether intragenerational social mobility is associated with functional somatic symptoms in mid-adulthood, the current study tests three partially contrasting theories.MethodThe dissociative theory suggests that mobility in general and upward mobility in particular may be linked to psychological distress, while the falling from grace theory indicates that downward mobility is especially stressful. In contrast, the acculturation theory holds that the health implications of social mobility is not due to the movement itself but attributed to the class contexts in which people find themselves. Diagonal Reference Models were used on a sample of 924 individuals who in 1981 graduated from 9th grade in the municipality of Luleå, Sweden. Social mobility was operationalized as change in occupational class between age 30 and 42 (measured in 1995 and 2007). The health outcome was functional somatic symptoms at age 42, defined as a clustering self-reported physical symptoms, palpitation and sleeping difficulties during the last 12 months.ResultsOverall mobility was not associated with higher levels of functional somatic symptoms compared to being immobile (p = 0.653). After controlling for prior and current class, sex, parental social position, general health, civil status, education and unemployment, the association between downward mobility was borderline significant (p = 0.055) while upward mobility was associated with lower levels of functional somatic symptoms (p = 0.03).ConclusionThe current study did not find unanimous support for any of the theories. Nevertheless, it sheds light on the possibility that upward mobility may be beneficial to reduce stress-related health problems in mid-life over and above the exposure to prior and current class, while downward mobility can be of less importance for middle-age health complaints.

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“…Research on mobility effects is usually conducted by using Sobel's (1981) have been conducted on fertility rates (Sobel, 1985), voting behaviours (Clifford & Heath, 1993), ethnic attitudes (Tolsman, de Graaf, & Quillian, 2009), health perceptions (Houle, 2011;Houle & Martin, 2011) and happiness (Zhao & Li, 2016) while studies using a trajectory variable have been conducted on social trust (Li et al, 2005), social capital (Li, Savage, & Warde, 2008) and cultural consumption (Li, Savage, & Warde, 2015). Whereas the DRM does have the advantage of being able to overcome the multicollinearity issues over position as well as mobility effects on outcomes of interest, our present concerns are somewhat different.…”

Section: Contemporary Social Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Social mobility, social network and subjective well-being in the UK

2016

Contemporary Social Science

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This paper examines the intergenerational mobility trajectory (class) effects on social connection and, through this, on subjective well-being in contemporary UK society. Drawing on data from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study, we measured four types of formal and informal social network (civic engagement, neighbourhood cohesion, diversity and size of social networks) and used three indictors for well-being. We find that social network does play a significant role on well-being but the impact is much smaller than that of class. We also find that class is more closely related to the formal than the informal domains of social network. Demographic attributes show some influences but social network, employment, and prior levels of well-being in particular, have more salient effects on well-being. Over and above all this, class as an indicator of cumulative advantages and disadvantages has a persistent and systematic influence. Overall, the analysis shows that while enriching social connection would contribute to well-being, reducing classbased inequality is of greater importance. IntroductionLike other developed societies, the UK has witnessed persistent or even growing socio-economic inequalities in the last few decades. Risks of employment insecurity have increased, income disparities have grown, and civic engagement and social cohesion have declined. Underlying these and other aspects of social change are class differences related not only to people's current position in the labour market but also to the inequality in mobility chances. Class-based inequalities are fed into people's perception of their quality of life. These developments have attracted the attention of academic, government and third-sector researchers alike. For instance, several initiatives have been launched in recent years by the central government departments in the UK to monitor public well-being, due to the recognition that the government has a responsibility not only to promote people's material standards of living but also to enhance their subjective experience of well-being (Cameron, 2010; Cabinet Office, 2013; DCLG, 2012).Much research has shown that people's well-being is closely related to the socio-economic position they hold in society and to formal and informal networks they have in their social lives, but how these factors are related to one another, what relative importance they have for well-being and, more importantly, how they are related to the social reproduction processes has been under-researched. Social scientists have made numerous efforts in trying to understand how people's subjective perceptions of life quality are shaped by personal and structural factors,

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Does intergenerational mobility shape psychological distress? Sorokin revisited

Cited by 65 publications

References 44 publications

The social gradient in preventive healthcare use: what can we learn from socially mobile individuals?

The social gradient in preventive healthcare use: what can we learn from socially mobile individuals?

Intragenerational social mobility and functional somatic symptoms in a northern Swedish context: analyses of diagonal reference models

Social mobility, social network and subjective well-being in the UK

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