5: The Impacts of Social Class

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Page ID: 230355

Shannon Ahrndt
University of Missouri-St. Louis

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Learning Objectives

Describe how socioeconomic status relates to the distribution of social opportunities and resources.
Describe how a low socioeconomic status can impact the health status of individuals.
Define mental health and explain why it is regarded as a socially constructed concept.
Give examples of effects of social class on marriage, birth rates, and family composition.
Discuss three factors contributing to educational inequality.
Explain how social class relates to religious affiliation, denomination, and religiosity.
Evaluate how social class impacts political participation and political influence.
Describe how the administration of punishment has changed throughout history.

In the United States, a person's social class has far-reaching consequences. Social class refers to the the grouping of individuals in a stratified hierarchy based on wealth, income, education, occupation, and social network (though other factors are sometimes considered) ("Hierarchy," 2019). One's position in the social class hierarchy may impact, for example, health, family life, education, religious affiliation, political participation, and experience with the criminal justice system.

Social class in the United States is a controversial issue, with social scientists disagreeing over models, definitions, and even the basic question of whether or not distinct classes exist. Many Americans believe in a simple three class model that includes the rich or upper class, the middle class, and the poor or working class ("Social Class," 2020). More complex models that have been proposed by social scientists describe as many as a dozen class levels. Regardless of which model of social classes used, it is clear that socioeconomic status (SES) is tied to particular opportunities and resources. Socioeconomic status refers to a person's position in the social hierarchy and is determined by their income, wealth, occupational prestige, and educational attainment.

While social class may be an amorphous and diffuse concept, with scholars disagreeing over its definition, tangible advantages are associated with high socioeconomic status. People in the highest SES bracket, generally referred to as the upper class, likely have better access to healthcare, marry people of higher social status, attend more prestigious schools, and are more influential in politics than people in the middle class or working class. People in the upper class are members of elite social networks, effectively meaning that they have access to people in powerful positions who have specialized knowledge. These social networks confer benefits ranging from advantages in seeking education and employment to leniency by police and the courts. Sociologists may dispute exactly how to model the distinctions between socioeconomic statuses, but the higher up the class hierarchy one is in America, the better health, educational, and professional outcomes one is likely to have ("Social Class," 2020).

SOURCE

lumencandela. (n.d.). The impacts of social class. In Boundless sociology. Lumen Learning. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/the-impacts-of-social-class/ (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License)

KEY TERMS

adjudication	hierarchy
birth rate	law enforcement
courts	legacy student
educational attainment	mental disorder
environmental hazards	mental health
family life	overpopulation
health inequality	political influence

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