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What does "occupation" represent as an indicator of socioeconomic status?: Exploring occupational prestige and health

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  • Fujishiro, Kaori
  • Xu, Jun
  • Gong, Fang

Abstract

The association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health has been widely documented. However, the role of occupation in this association is not clear because occupation is less often used than income and education as an indicator of SES, especially in the United States. This may be caused by the ambiguity in what occupation represents: both health-enhancing resources (e.g., self-affirmation) and health-damaging hazards (e.g., job stress). SES has two aspects: resources and status. While income and education represent resources and imply status, occupational prestige is an explicit indicator of the social status afforded by one's occupation. Using data from the US General Social Survey in 2002 and 2006 (n = 3151), we examine whether occupational prestige has a significant association with self-rated health independent from other SES indicators (income, education), occupational categories (e.g., managerial, professional, technical, service), and previously established work-related health determinants (job strain, work place social support, job satisfaction). After all covariates were included in the multiple logistic regression model, higher occupational prestige was associated with lower odds of reporting poor/fair self-rated health. We discuss potential mechanisms through which occupational prestige may impact health. Our findings not only suggest multiple ways that occupation is associated with health, but also highlight the utility of occupational prestige as an SES indicator that explicitly represents social standing.

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  • Fujishiro, Kaori & Xu, Jun & Gong, Fang, 2010. "What does "occupation" represent as an indicator of socioeconomic status?: Exploring occupational prestige and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(12), pages 2100-2107, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:71:y:2010:i:12:p:2100-2107
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    2. Georgellis, Yannis & Clark, Andrew E. & Apergis, Emmanuel & Robinson, Catherine, 2022. "Occupational status and life satisfaction in the UK: The miserable middle?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 509-527.
    3. Chen, Cheng & Zhao, Wangyang & Chou, Shin-Yi & Lien, Hsien-Ming, 2021. "The effect of family size on parents' labor supply and occupational prestige: Evidence from Taiwan and Mainland China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Ro, Annie & Goldberg, Rachel E., 2017. "Post-migration employment changes and health: A dyadic spousal analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 202-211.
    5. Zheng Xie & Adrienne N Poon & Zhijun Wu & Weiyan Jian & Kit Yee Chan, 2015. "Is Occupation a Good Predictor of Self-Rated Health in China?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Zachary Zimmer & Heidi Hanson & Ken Smith, 2016. "Childhood socioeconomic status, adult socioeconomic status, and old-age health trajectories," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 34(10), pages 285-320.
    7. Jana Spilková & Lenka Fendrychová & Marie Syrovátková, 2013. "Farmers’ markets in Prague: a new challenge within the urban shoppingscape," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(2), pages 179-191, June.
    8. Jongkwan Lee & Anthony Niu & Hee-Seung Yang, 2022. "Language Proficiency and Subjective Well-being: Evidence from Immigrants in Australia," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1847-1866, June.
    9. Valeriu FRUNZARU & Diana-Luiza DUMITRIU, 2015. "Self-Perceived Occupational Prestige among Romanian Teaching Staff: Organisational Explicative Factors," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 3(4), pages 629-643, December.
    10. Xinghua Yang & Qiushan Tao & Feng Sun & Siyan Zhan, 2012. "The impact of socioeconomic status on the incidence of metabolic syndrome in a Taiwanese health screening population," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 57(3), pages 551-559, June.
    11. Paola Bertuccio & Gianfranco Alicandro & Gabriella Sebastiani & Nicolas Zengarini & Giuseppe Costa & Carlo La Vecchia & Luisa Frova, 2018. "Mortality by occupation-based social class in Italy from 2012 to 2014," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 63(7), pages 865-874, September.

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