IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/eujoag/v21y2024i1d10.1007_s10433-024-00810-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Subjective social status across the past, present, and future: status trajectories of older adults

Author

Listed:
  • Tim Kuball

    (Chemnitz University of Technology)

  • Georg Jahn

    (Chemnitz University of Technology)

Abstract

Beyond objective indicators of social status (e.g., income or education), the subjective social status (SSS; i.e., the self-assessed position in a social hierarchy) is associated with psychological well-being and physiological functioning. Existing research has focused on older adults’ current status evaluations, neglecting perceived temporal stability or change in SSS which can further impact self-perception and emotional well-being. In the present study, we examined older adults’ (N = 191; mean age = 73.5) SSS with regard to their past, present, and future. Examining SSS for multiple time-points allowed us to identify profiles representing trajectories of status from the past to the future by conducting latent profile analysis. Furthermore, we tested associations of the identified trajectory-profiles with aging anxiety and negative affect. Results showed that, on average, participants anticipated higher future status losses than they had experienced in the past, regardless of age. In the more nuanced profile analysis, we identified four trajectory-profiles: A high (17%), a moderate (57%), and a low perceived social status (14%) trajectory, as well as a profile representing a perceived decrease in status (12%). While a lower status was associated with more aging anxiety and negative affect, most aging anxiety and negative affect was found for profiles representing a low initial status-level and a perceived decrease in status. Findings implicate that social status comparisons with others but also status comparisons with past- and future-selves are relevant for older adults. The discussion highlights the benefits of improving or stabilizing subjective assessments of status in later adulthood.

Suggested Citation

  • Tim Kuball & Georg Jahn, 2024. "Subjective social status across the past, present, and future: status trajectories of older adults," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujoag:v:21:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10433-024-00810-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10433-024-00810-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10433-024-00810-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10433-024-00810-4?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. Gilles Celeux & Gilda Soromenho, 1996. "An entropy criterion for assessing the number of clusters in a mixture model," Journal of Classification, Springer;The Classification Society, vol. 13(2), pages 195-212, September.
    2. Singh-Manoux, Archana & Adler, Nancy E. & Marmot, Michael G., 2003. "Subjective social status: its determinants and its association with measures of ill-health in the Whitehall II study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 56(6), pages 1321-1333, March.
    3. Kevyn Yong & Nathan C. Pettit & Sandra E. Spataro, 2010. "Holding your place: Reactions to the prospect of status gains and losses," Post-Print hal-00528416, HAL.
    4. Christin-Melanie Vauclair & Sibila Marques & Maria L. Lima & Christopher Bratt & Hannah J. Swift & Dominic Abrams, 2015. "Subjective Social Status of Older People Across Countries: The Role of Modernization and Employment," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 70(4), pages 650-660.
    5. Anne Blawert & Susanne Wurm, 2021. "Shifting self-perceptions of ageing: differential effects of value priorities on self-perceptions of ageing beyond age stereotypes," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 257-267, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Juan Matamoros-Lima & Guillermo B Willis & Miguel Moya, 2023. "Rising and falling on the social ladder: The bidimensional social mobility beliefs scale," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(12), pages 1-21, December.
    2. Alyson Byrne & Julian Barling, 2017. "When She Brings Home the Job Status: Wives’ Job Status, Status Leakage, and Marital Instability," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(2), pages 177-192, April.
    3. Julian Aichholzer & Sylvia Kritzinger & Carolina Plescia, 2021. "National identity profiles and support for the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 22(2), pages 293-315, June.
    4. Adrian Bruhin & Ernst Fehr & Daniel Schunk, 2019. "The many Faces of Human Sociality: Uncovering the Distribution and Stability of Social Preferences," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(4), pages 1025-1069.
    5. Liu, Zhiqiang & Yan, Miao & Fan, Youqing & Chen, Liling, 2021. "Ascribed or achieved? The role of birth order on innovative behaviour in the workplace," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 480-492.
    6. Jacky C. K. Ng & Joanne Y. H. Chong & Hilary K. Y. Ng, 2023. "The way I see the world, the way I envy others: a person-centered investigation of worldviews and the malicious and benign forms of envy among adolescents and adults," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Gillian C. Williams & Karen A. Patte & Mark A. Ferro & Scott T. Leatherdale, 2021. "Associations between Longitudinal Patterns of Substance Use and Anxiety and Depression Symptoms among a Sample of Canadian Secondary School Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-14, October.
    8. Mélissa Lemoine & Gerhard Gmel & Simon Foster & Simon Marmet & Joseph Studer, 2020. "Multiple trajectories of alcohol use and the development of alcohol use disorder: Do Swiss men mature-out of problematic alcohol use during emerging adulthood?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, January.
    9. Landefeld, John C. & Burmaster, Katharine B. & Rehkopf, David H. & Syme, S. Leonard & Lahiff, Maureen & Adler-Milstein, Sarah & Fernald, Lia C.H., 2014. "The association between a living wage and subjective social status and self-rated health: A quasi-experimental study in the Dominican Republic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 91-97.
    10. Sarstedt, Marko & Salcher, André, 2007. "Modellselektion in Finite Mixture PLS-Modellen," Discussion Papers in Business Administration 1394, University of Munich, Munich School of Management.
    11. Lebret, Rémi & Iovleff, Serge & Langrognet, Florent & Biernacki, Christophe & Celeux, Gilles & Govaert, Gérard, 2015. "Rmixmod: The R Package of the Model-Based Unsupervised, Supervised, and Semi-Supervised Classification Mixmod Library," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 67(i06).
    12. Eunkyung Lee & Yeosun Yoon, 2022. "Heading Up or Stuck Down Here? The Effect of Perceived Economic Mobility on Subjective Social Status and Brand Identification," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    13. Liu, Guoqing & Yang, Yiying & Wang, Yangqian & Zhao, Shouying & Cheng, Gang, 2023. "The trajectory of subjective social status and its influencing factors in the transition period of freshmen in senior high school," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    14. Miranda L. Ritterman & S. Leonard Syme, 2009. "The importance of community development for health and well-being," Community Development Innovation Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue 3, pages 001-013.
    15. Jerneja Farkas & Majda Pahor & Lijana Zaletel-Kragelj, 2011. "Self-rated health in different social classes of Slovenian adult population: nationwide cross-sectional study," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 56(1), pages 45-54, February.
    16. Ellen Bouchery & Monica Farid, "undated". "Variation in Staff Salary Costs Associated with Characteristics of Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 65b1484724354c0ca8270d1c6, Mathematica Policy Research.
    17. Wang, Kun & Marbut, Alexander R. & Suntai, Zainab & Zheng, Dianhan & Chen, Xiayu, 2022. "Patterns in older adults' perceived chronic stressor types and cognitive functioning trajectories: Are perceived chronic stressors always bad?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 311(C).
    18. Tolu O Oyesanya & Roger L Brown & Lyn S Turkstra, 2017. "Caring for Patients with traumatic brain injury: a survey of nurses' perceptions," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(11-12), pages 1562-1574, June.
    19. Anne Mäkikangas & Wilmar Schaufeli & Esko Leskinen & Ulla Kinnunen & Katriina Hyvönen & Taru Feldt, 2016. "Long-Term Development of Employee Well-Being: A Latent Transition Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 2325-2345, December.
    20. Macleod, John & Davey Smith, George & Metcalfe, Chris & Hart, Carole, 2005. "Is subjective social status a more important determinant of health than objective social status? Evidence from a prospective observational study of Scottish men," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(9), pages 1916-1929, November.

    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:spr:eujoag:v:21:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10433-024-00810-4. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.