IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v147y2015icp144-149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Subjective relative deprivation is associated with poorer physical and mental health

Author

Listed:
  • Mishra, Sandeep
  • Carleton, R. Nicholas

Abstract

Substantial epidemiological evidence has shown that income inequality and objective measures of relative deprivation are associated with poorer health outcomes. However, surprisingly little research has examined whether subjective feelings of relative deprivation are similarly linked with poorer health outcomes. The relative deprivation hypothesis suggests that inequality affects health at the individual level through negative consequences of social comparison. We directly examined the relationship between subjective feelings of personal relative deprivation and self-reported physical and mental health in a diverse community sample (n = 328). Results demonstrated that subjective feelings of personal relative deprivation are associated with significantly poorer physical and mental health. These relationships held even when accounting for covariates that have been previously associated with both relative deprivation and health. These results further support the link between relative deprivation and health outcomes and suggest that addressing root causes of relative deprivation may lead to greater individual health.

Suggested Citation

  • Mishra, Sandeep & Carleton, R. Nicholas, 2015. "Subjective relative deprivation is associated with poorer physical and mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 144-149.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:147:y:2015:i:c:p:144-149
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.030
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953615301702
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.10.030?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wilkinson, Richard G & Pickett, Kate E., 2006. "Income inequality and population health: A review and explanation of the evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(7), pages 1768-1784, April.
    2. Lawlor, D.A. & Smith, G.D. & Patel, R. & Ebrahim, S., 2005. "Life-course socioeconomic position, area deprivation, and coronary heart disease: Findings from the British women's heart and health study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(1), pages 91-97.
    3. Åberg Yngwe, Monica & Fritzell, Johan & Lundberg, Olle & Diderichsen, Finn & Burström, Bo, 2003. "Exploring relative deprivation: Is social comparison a mechanism in the relation between income and health?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(8), pages 1463-1473, October.
    4. Kahn, Henry S. & Tatham, Lilith M. & Pamuk, Elsie R. & Heath, Clark W., 1998. "Are geographic regions with high income inequality associated with risk of abdominal weight gain?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 1-6, July.
    5. Jennifer M. Mellor & Jeffrey Milyo, 2002. "Income Inequality and Health Status in the United States: Evidence from the Current Population Survey," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(3), pages 510-539.
    6. Mossey, J.M. & Shapiro, E., 1982. "Self-rated health: a predictor of mortality among the elderly," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 72(8), pages 800-808.
    7. Pickett, Kate E. & Wilkinson, Richard G., 2015. "Income inequality and health: A causal review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 316-326.
    8. Christine Eibner & William N. Evans, 2005. "Relative Deprivation, Poor Health Habits, and Mortality," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(3).
    9. Kawachi, I. & Kennedy, B.P. & Lochner, K. & Prothrow-Stith, D., 1997. "Social capital, income inequality, and mortality," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 87(9), pages 1491-1498.
    10. Adjaye-Gbewonyo, Kafui & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2012. "Use of the Yitzhaki Index as a test of relative deprivation for health outcomes: A review of recent literature," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 129-137.
    11. Lhila, Aparna & Simon, Kosali I., 2010. "Relative deprivation and child health in the USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(4), pages 777-785, August.
    12. Kondo, Naoki & Kawachi, Ichiro & Subramanian, S.V. & Takeda, Yasuhisa & Yamagata, Zentaro, 2008. "Do social comparisons explain the association between income inequality and health?: Relative deprivation and perceived health among male and female Japanese individuals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(6), pages 982-987, September.
    13. Wilkinson, Richard G. & Pickett, Kate E., 2007. "The problems of relative deprivation: Why some societies do better than others," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(9), pages 1965-1978, November.
    14. Walters, K. & Breeze, E. & Wilkinson, P. & Price, G.M. & Bulpitt, C.J. & Fletcher, A., 2004. "Local area deprivation and urban-rural differences in anxiety and depression among people older than 75 years in Britain," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(10), pages 1768-1774.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shi, Songyun & Chen, Yu-Chih & Yip, Paul S.F., 2023. "Relative deprivation patterns in social and geographical references for health trajectories in China: Investigations of gender and urban-rural disparities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    2. Kai Li & Feng Yu & Yanchi Zhang & Yongyu Guo, 2023. "The Effects of Subjective Social Class on Subjective Well-Being and Mental Health: A Moderated Mediation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-11, February.
    3. Shadi Beshai & Sanju Mishra & Sandeep Mishra & R Nicholas Carleton, 2017. "Personal relative deprivation associated with functional disorders via stress: An examination of fibromyalgia and gastrointestinal symptoms," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(12), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Chee Hon Chan & Ho Kit Wong & Paul Siu Fai Yip, 2017. "Associations of relative income deprivation with perceived happiness and self-rated health among the Hong Kong Chinese population," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(6), pages 697-707, July.
    5. Beshai, Shadi & Mishra, Sandeep & Meadows, Tyler J.S. & Parmar, Priya & Huang, Vivian, 2017. "Minding the gap: Subjective relative deprivation and depressive symptoms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 18-25.
    6. Stark, Oded, 2021. "Why reducing relative deprivation but not reducing income inequality might bring down COVID-19 infections," Journal of Government and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(C).
    7. Kahouli, Sondès, 2020. "An economic approach to the study of the relationship between housing hazards and health: The case of residential fuel poverty in France," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    8. Simandan, Dragos, 2018. "Rethinking the health consequences of social class and social mobility," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 258-261.
    9. Yashuo Chen & Pengbo Li & Chunjiang Yang, 2020. "Examining the Effects of Overtime Work on Subjective Social Status and Social Inclusion in the Chinese Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Uriel Leviatan, 2017. "Physical Social Capital and Psychosocial Social Capital as Mediators Between Socio-economic Inequality and Expressions of Well-being and Health in Israeli Kibbutz Populations," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 29(2), pages 160-199, September.
    11. Qian Liu & Haimin Pan, 2020. "Investigation on Life Satisfaction of Rural-to-Urban Migrant Workers in China: A Moderated Mediation Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-14, April.
    12. Song, Lijun & Pettis, Philip J., 2020. "Does whom you know in the status hierarchy prevent or trigger health limitation? Institutional embeddedness of social capital and social cost theories in three societies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    13. Jingfang Liu & Jun Kong & Xin Zhang, 2020. "Study on Differences between Patients with Physiological and Psychological Diseases in Online Health Communities: Topic Analysis and Sentiment Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-17, February.
    14. Esposito, Lucio & Villaseñor, Adrián, 2017. "Relative deprivation: Measurement issues and predictive role for body image dissatisfaction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 49-57.
    15. Kuiyun Zhi & Qiurong Tan & Si Chen & Yongjin Chen & Xiaoqin Wu & Chenkai Xue & Anbang Song, 2022. "How Does Social Security Fairness Predict Trust in Government? The Serial Mediation Effects of Social Security Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-14, June.
    16. Koyama, Yuna & Fujiwara, Takeo & Yagi, Junko & Mashiko, Hirobumi, 2022. "Association of parental dissatisfaction and perceived inequality of post-disaster recovery process with child mental health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    17. Harriet Thomson & Carolyn Snell & Stefan Bouzarovski, 2017. "Health, Well-Being and Energy Poverty in Europe: A Comparative Study of 32 European Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, May.
    18. Elgar, Frank J. & Pickett, William & Pförtner, Timo-Kolja & Gariépy, Geneviève & Gordon, David & Georgiades, Kathy & Davison, Colleen & Hammami, Nour & MacNeil, Allison H. & Azevedo Da Silva, Marine &, 2021. "Relative food insecurity, mental health and wellbeing in 160 countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    19. Tommy Haugan & Sally Muggleton & Arnhild Myhr, 2021. "Psychological distress in late adolescence: The role of inequalities in family affluence and municipal socioeconomic characteristics in Norway," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(7), pages 1-25, July.
    20. Gero, Krisztina & Kondo, Katsunori & Kondo, Naoki & Shirai, Kokoro & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2017. "Associations of relative deprivation and income rank with depressive symptoms among older adults in Japan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 138-144.
    21. David Brady & Michaela Curran & Richard Carpiano, 2023. "A test of the predictive validity of relative versus absolute income for self-reported health and well-being in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(26), pages 775-808.
    22. Fei Yan & Guangye He & Yunsong Chen, 2018. "The Health Consequences of Social Mobility in Contemporary China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-15, November.
    23. Luo, Weixiang & Xie, Yu, 2020. "Economic growth, income inequality and life expectancy in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Luo, Weixiang & Xie, Yu, 2020. "Economic growth, income inequality and life expectancy in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    2. Zheng, Hui & George, Linda K., 2012. "Rising U.S. income inequality and the changing gradient of socioeconomic status on physical functioning and activity limitations, 1984–2007," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(12), pages 2170-2182.
    3. Kuo, Chun-Tung & Chiang, Tung-liang, 2013. "The association between relative deprivation and self-rated health, depressive symptoms, and smoking behavior in Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 39-44.
    4. Miething, Alexander, 2013. "A matter of perception: Exploring the role of income satisfaction in the income–mortality relationship in German survey data 1995–2010," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 72-79.
    5. Owen O'Donnell & Eddy Van Doorslaer & Tom Van Ourti, 2013. "Health and Inequality," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 13-170/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    6. Pham-Kanter, Genevieve, 2009. "Social comparisons and health: Can having richer friends and neighbors make you sick?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 335-344, August.
    7. Sun, Yu & You, Wen, 2016. "Relative-deprivation effects on child health in China," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235926, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Hounkpatin, Hilda Osafo & Wood, Alex M. & Dunn, Graham, 2016. "Does income relate to health due to psychosocial or material factors? Consistent support for the psychosocial hypothesis requires operationalization with income rank not the Yitzhaki Index," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 76-84.
    9. Zheng, Hui & Choi, Yoonyoung & Dirlam, Jonathan & George, Linda, 2022. "Rising childhood income inequality and declining Americans’ health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    10. Jianfeng Yao and Fafanyo Asiseh, 2019. "An Economic Analysis of Household Income Inequality and BMI in China," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 44(1), pages 23-37, March.
    11. Song, Lijun & Pettis, Philip J., 2020. "Does whom you know in the status hierarchy prevent or trigger health limitation? Institutional embeddedness of social capital and social cost theories in three societies," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    12. Pak, Tae-Young & Choung, Youngjoo, 2020. "Relative deprivation and suicide risk in South Korea," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    13. Grönqvist, Hans & Johansson, Per & Niknami, Susan, 2012. "Income inequality and health: Lessons from a refugee residential assignment program," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 617-629.
    14. Esteban Sánchez-Moreno & Lorena P. Gallardo-Peralta, 2022. "Income inequalities, social support and depressive symptoms among older adults in Europe: a multilevel cross-sectional study," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 663-675, September.
    15. Nigel Kragten & Jesper Rözer, 2017. "The Income Inequality Hypothesis Revisited: Assessing the Hypothesis Using Four Methodological Approaches," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(3), pages 1015-1033, April.
    16. Tommy Haugan & Sally Muggleton & Arnhild Myhr, 2021. "Psychological distress in late adolescence: The role of inequalities in family affluence and municipal socioeconomic characteristics in Norway," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(7), pages 1-25, July.
    17. Zheng, Hui, 2009. "Rising U.S. income inequality, gender and individual self-rated health, 1972-2004," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1333-1342, November.
    18. Chee Hon Chan & Ho Kit Wong & Paul Siu Fai Yip, 2017. "Associations of relative income deprivation with perceived happiness and self-rated health among the Hong Kong Chinese population," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(6), pages 697-707, July.
    19. Adjaye-Gbewonyo, Kafui & Kawachi, Ichiro, 2012. "Use of the Yitzhaki Index as a test of relative deprivation for health outcomes: A review of recent literature," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 129-137.
    20. Beshai, Shadi & Mishra, Sandeep & Meadows, Tyler J.S. & Parmar, Priya & Huang, Vivian, 2017. "Minding the gap: Subjective relative deprivation and depressive symptoms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 18-25.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:147:y:2015:i:c:p:144-149. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.