Social Class, Occupational Conditions, and Self-Esteem

Abstract

This study is an attempt at further specification of the relationship between social class and self-esteem. We argue that the effects of social class on self-esteem are largely experienced through occupational conditions which affect the self-evaluation dimensions of self-efficacy and self-worth. We examine these relationships, with the use of path analysis, for a sample of working men. The path model considers the direct and indirect effects of social class (socioeconomic status and education) on occupational conditions (work complexity; control over work; degree of supervision and routinization), on dimensions of self-evaluation (self-efficacy and self-worth), and on general self-esteem. We found the direct effect of our social class indicators on general self-esteem to be small and insignificant. But occupational prestige was significantly related to occupational conditions, which in turn were significantly related to self-worth and self-efficacy. Education had a direct effect on self-efficacy and self-esteem and an indirect effect on self-esteem via self-efficacy and job complexity. Of the two dimensions of self-evaluation, self-efficacy had a substantially stronger effect than self-worth on general self-esteem. These findings support our expectation that the effects of social class on self-esteem are largely mediated by occupational conditions which affect primarily the efficacy dimension of self-evaluation.

Understanding the association between socioeconomic status and physical health: Do negative emotions play a role?

“…The association between SES and intrapersonal resources might originate through asymmetrical relationships associated with status hierarchies, which bring unpleasant feelings of inferiority for those low in the hierarchy and pleasant feelings of superiority for those high in the hierarchy (R. Brown, 1965). These interpersonal experiences are likely to begin in early development (Kessler & Cleary, 1980;Repetti, Taylor, & Seeman, 2002) and may be maintained through socialization experiences related to low-SES work environments later in life (e.g., Gecas & Seff, 1989). For example, downward social mobility in employment status is related to lower levels of personal control and mastery (Pearlin, Lieberman, Menaghan, & Mullan, 1981), and individuals with low SES tend to report low control, decisionmaking latitude, skill discretion, and work support and high demands in their jobs (e.g., Marmot & Theorell, 1988;Stansfeld et al, 1998).…”

Perceived parenting skill across the transition to adoptive parenthood among lesbian, gay, and heterosexual couples.

“…Perhaps even more important than job hours is the amount of autonomy parents have in their jobs , or the degree to which their jobs allow them freedom to schedule work, make decisions, and select the methods used to perform tasks (Hackman & Oldham, 1975). Job autonomy facilitates work related self-efficacy (Paglis & Green, 2002) and general self-efficacy (Gecas & Seff, 1989). Further, people who perceive greater autonomy at work tend to have similar perceptions of home (Champoux, 1978).…”

Processes Linking Social Class and Racial Socialization in African American Dual‐Earner Families

“…In this conceptual framework, social class underlies adults’ access to occupations that, in turn, provide differential opportunities for value formation and psychological growth. Drawing on ideas from Kohn, Kohn and Schooler, Gecas and Seff (1989), and others, we hypothesized that socioeconomic status gives rise to differential opportunity to exercise autonomy and self‐direction on the job and that occupational self‐direction is an empowering experience that is linked, in turn, to an enhanced sense of self‐efficacy. In the final link in our conceptual chain, we hypothesized that self‐efficacy empowers African American parents to socialize their children around issues of race, specifically, to teach their children about African American culture and prepare them for experiences of bias.…”