Subjective Social Status is Associated with Happiness but Not Weight Status or Psychological Distress: An Analysis of Three Prospective Birth Cohorts from Low- and Middle-Income Countries

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Citation

Varghese, Jithin S.; Hall, Rachel W.; Adair, Linda S.; Patel, Shivani A.; Martorell, Reynaldo; Belleza, Delia E.; Kroker-Lobos, Maria F.; Lee, Nanette R.; Nyati, Lukhanyo H.; & Ramirez-Zea, Manuel, et al. (2022). Subjective Social Status is Associated with Happiness but Not Weight Status or Psychological Distress: An Analysis of Three Prospective Birth Cohorts from Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 3, 100115. PMCID: PMC9732742

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Subjective social status (SSS, perception of social position relative to a frame of reference) has been associated with physical, mental and socio-emotional wellbeing. However, these associations may be susceptible to unmeasured confounding by life course objective socio-economic position (SEP; such as wealth, education and employment) and life satisfaction.
PURPOSE: To estimate the association of position on ladders of perceived community respect and perceived economic status with weight, distress and wellbeing, independent of objective SEP in cohorts from three low and middle-income countries.
METHODS: We used data from birth cohorts in Guatemala (n = 1258), Philippines (n = 1323) and South Africa (n = 1393). We estimated the association of perceived community respect and perceived economic status with body mass index (kg/m(2)), the World Health Organization's Self-Reported Questionnaire-20 (SRQ-20) for psychological distress, and Lyubomirsky's Subjective Happiness Scale. We estimated these associations using robust linear regression models adjusting for indicators of life course objective SEP, early life characteristics, adult covariates, and life satisfaction.
RESULTS: Participants in South Africa (age 27-28y) rated themselves higher on average for both the respect (7 vs 5 in Guatemala and 6 in Philippines) and economic (5 vs 3 in Guatemala and 4 in Philippines) ladder measures. Position on neither community respect nor economic ladders were associated with BMI or psychological distress. Higher position on community respect (Guatemala: 0.03, 95%CI: 0.01, 0.04; Philippines: 0.03, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.05; South Africa: 0.07, 95%CI: 0.04, 0.09) and economic (Guatemala: 0.02, 95%CI: 0, 0.04; Philippines: 0.04, 95%CI: 0.02, 0.07; South Africa: 0.07, 95%CI: 0.04, 0.10) ladders were associated with greater happiness.
CONCLUSIONS: Subjective social status showed small but consistent associations with happiness in birth cohorts independent of life-course SEP.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2022.100115

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2022

Journal Title

Wellbeing, Space and Society

Author(s)

Varghese, Jithin S.
Hall, Rachel W.
Adair, Linda S.
Patel, Shivani A.
Martorell, Reynaldo
Belleza, Delia E.
Kroker-Lobos, Maria F.
Lee, Nanette R.
Nyati, Lukhanyo H.
Ramirez-Zea, Manuel
Richter, Linda M.
Stein, Aryeh D.

Article Type

Regular

PMCID

PMC9732742

Data Set/Study

Consortium of Health Oriented Research in Transitioning Societies (COHORTS) collaborative
Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS)
Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) Longitudinal Study
Birth to Twenty Study

Continent/Country

Philippines
Guatemala
South Africa

ORCiD

Adair - 0000-0002-3670-8073