Socioeconomic Status

Social class is a division of a society based on social and economic status which can include levels of wealth, success, power of authority, and influence. Status is can be defined or grouped having common economic, cultural, or political interests.

Historically, African Americans have endured extended periods of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other forms of discrimination for almost four centuries. These events, coupled with legal racist practices, have led to dire consequences within the socioeconomic landscape for African Americans (Watts, 2003).

Socioeconomic Status is where a particular person or group of people stand in regards to social class. The main measurement that determines one's socioeconomic status is level of education, occupation and income. Although it may not be considered a factor in child development, socioeconomic status can actually play a huge role in determining what kind of adolescent a child develops into. It can influence a child’s morals, self-esteem, grades and many more aspects of a child's life. Socioeconomic status can play a role in determining where a person resides, the occupation they end up getting, their education and their income as well. So, although one’s socioeconomic status is technically made up of these aspects, one can be born into a low socioeconomic status which could result in them continuing to have one throughout their life. It is a cycle that one must break in order to change the outcome. Low socioeconomic status can result in child poverty. Child poverty over the years has risen and fallen but has remained consistently apparent in America. Child poverty can have detrimental effects on developing children and adolescents. It may influence the way they are raised, taught, cared for and many more aspects of the child's life which are important for successful development. Low socioeconomic status can determine how well children and adolescents develop and the type of person they develop into, including

This journal serves as a quintessential and pertinent model for our project. There are a myriad of variables in why minorities continue to face health disparities. This journal analytically provides the backdrop in how cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates corresponds to one's race and socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic status is one of the greatest implications leading to the production of cancer, if not remedy. Socioecomonic status is an umbrella term used in this article which includes poverty, inadequate education, lack of health insurance, tobacco use, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and obesity.

Furthermore, research on aging and eldercare also show a propensity that socioeconomic status should be taken into consideration, according to Bookman and Kimbrel (2011). The authors contend that African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American communities, and other groups also bring their cultural strengths and demands to the caregiving experience (Bookman & Kimbrel,

In this case, socioeconomic factors, especially education and income, are key contributors to poor nutrition and lifestyle behaviors. Greg Critser points out studies which show that the effects of socioeconomic status on disparities are stronger than those of race and ethnicity . Regardless of which characteristic might be a stronger contributor to diet-related disparities, the significance of socioeconomic factors cannot be exaggerated. For example, level of education impacts knowledge of dietary recommendations and skills to make healthy food choices , while income influences whether a person have access to healthier foods at a price they can afford. When people move from middle to low socioeconomic status food choices shift toward cheaper, but more energy-dense foods. Low socioeconomic status leads to consuming high calorie food and avoiding physical

Another study concerning socioeconomic status was done by a group of researchers including Vonetta Dotson, Melissa Kitner-Triolo, Michele Evans, and Alan Zonderman. They examined test scores from low and high socioeconomic status African Americans and Whites in order to determine if socioeconomic status and/or race affect cognitive abilities. The researchers hypothesized that proficiency in literacy would be a better predictor of cognitive abilities than years of education, especially for people of low socioeconomic status and African Americans (Dotson, Kitner-Triolo, Evans, & Zonderman, 2009). In order to measure the theory, cognitive tests from participants were examined and demographic questions were asked to determine incomes and race.

There is six percent of the population that has limited access to healthy food (Lake Health, 2016). The obesity rate has only dropped .1% in four years (Lake Health, 2016). Additionally, eighty percent of the population has access to exercise opportunities (Lake Health, 2016). Unfortunately, it costs money to do everything and it costs sixty-nine dollars a month for a family to join the YMCA (Lake County, 2014). Meanwhile, the average cost of a healthy diet for one person is more than $550 more per year (Rao, Afshin, Singh, & Mozaffarian, 2013). However, there are assistance programs available for people with lower incomes such as for school lunches, WIC, or food

So, what was socioeconomic status? What were the components that constructed socioeconomic status? Socioeconomic status was defined by multiple factors: educational attainment, income, occupational prestige, wealth, and much more. Educational attainment component of socioeconomic status had a long term prevalence on a person’s health. Research shown that children who grew up in low-socioeconomic status households and communities developed academic skills more slowly than other children. Some potential reasons was the lack of literacy in their environment, chronic stress, under resource, inadequate education provided in an area, and much more influenced an individual’s opportunity of learning at an early age (American). The lack of literacy in an environment was attributed

Socioeconomic status (SES) is the strongest determinant of health outcomes (Marmot & Bell, 2011). Parents and children of lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk of negative oral health outcomes and poor oral health-related quality of life (Jones, Shi, Hayashi, Sharma, Daly, & Ngo-Metzger, 2013 and Wells, Caplan, Strauss, Bell & George, 2010). Women with lower socioeconomic status are 30% less likely to utilize dental services. Likewise, they are 30% more likely to report unmet dental needs than women in higher socioeconomic gradients (Kaylor, Polivka, Chaudry, Salsberry, & Wee, 2010).

Many of the areas we covered during this course provided me with great insight and information that is applicable to my future endeavors. The article that stood out to me the most was Socioeconomic Status, Family Processes, and Individual Development (Conger et al., 2010). My previous knowledge regarding SES was very naïve. I had very minimal knowledge on the actual numbers and significance it has not only on society but on an individual level. This article specifically connected SES, the family processes that occur and how it impacts individual develop which provided an interesting and eye opening approach. My lack of knowledge in regards to the implications SES can have on individuals, families and society helped grab my attention when reading this particular article.

According to a study done in the US (WHO, 2010), persons with lower socioeconomic status had higher levels of PM2.5 exposure than those of a higher status. This was based on the following indicators: Unemployment, education, earnings and poverty. The study revealed that persons with education less than a high school degree had higher exposures than those with a high school degree. This is also true for the unemployed, those in the poverty range as well as those with lower earnings than those of a higher status.

Socioeconomic status has a large effect on poverty rates and occupational status. Commonly, an individual within the lower social classes tends to fall under the poverty line as well. Individuals who live in a low socioeconomic status area and/or are below the poverty line, commonly reside in living conditions that could increase the spread of disease and illness. A low socioeconomic status also means that healthy food is either unaffordable or too far away from resources that provide adequate food. For those in poverty, or with a low SES, this could result in overall poorer health, or even malnutrition.

Health insurance is a result of socioeconomic status that must be looked at by health care providers. Low socioeconomic status individuals usually cannot afford privatized health care insurance. If they can afford health insurance, it is commonly public insurance such as; Medicare and Medicaid. However, public health insurance is rarely accepted by physicians because privatized health insurance is more reliable. This means that less educated individuals have less access to health care based on if they carry insurance, or the type of health insurance they carry. Similarly, poorer people must travel farther than wealthier folks to get medical attention. Low SES individuals are less likely to get care until serious conditions arise because it is not of adequate access or affordability. However, low socioeconomic status areas that do have near by clinics and accept public health insurance are overcrowded. This is a major risk for the health care field because the spread of disease in an overcrowded clinic lowers the health of society. Socioeconomic status includes education levels, occupational status, and social class which all attribute to the effects of poverty, the overall health of society, health care accessibility, and health insurance affordability.

This essay will be discussing the extent to which social class and poverty affects health and illness. Firstly, what is social class? Each person’s perception of social class can be different; is social class defined by a person’s accent, the area they live in, or something as simple as their income? Project Britain describes social class as “The grouping of people by occupations and lifestyle”. (Cress, 2014). To find social class Sociologists group people according to common factors, they compare people and various criteria can be conveniently used to place people in social groups or classes. Next we ask the question what determines a person’s health, the NHS defines health as “Physical and mental, it is the absence of disease”. (NHS 2017).