Skip to main content

Perceived social status and mental health among young adolescents: Evidence from census data to cellphones.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rivenbark, JG; Copeland, WE; Davisson, EK; Gassman-Pines, A; Hoyle, RH; Piontak, JR; Russell, MA; Skinner, AT; Odgers, CL
Published in: Dev Psychol
March 2019

Adolescents in the United States live amid high levels of concentrated poverty and increasing income inequality. Poverty is robustly linked to adolescents' mental health problems; however, less is known about how perceptions of their social status and exposure to local area income inequality relate to mental health. Participants consisted of a population-representative sample of over 2,100 adolescents (ages 10-16), 395 of whom completed a 14-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study. Participants' subjective social status (SSS) was assessed at the start of the EMA, and mental health symptoms were measured both at baseline for the entire sample and daily in the EMA sample. Adolescents' SSS tracked family, school, and neighborhood economic indicators (|r| ranging from .12 to .30), and associations did not differ by age, race, or gender. SSS was independently associated with mental health, with stronger associations among older (ages 14-16) versus younger (ages 10-13) adolescents. Adolescents with lower SSS reported higher psychological distress and inattention problems, as well as more conduct problems, in daily life. Those living in areas with higher income inequality reported significantly lower subjective social status, but this association was explained by family and neighborhood income. Findings illustrate that adolescents' SSS is correlated with both internalizing and externalizing mental health problems, and that by age 14 it becomes a unique predictor of mental health problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Dev Psychol

DOI

EISSN

1939-0599

Publication Date

March 2019

Volume

55

Issue

3

Start / End Page

574 / 585

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Social Perception
  • Social Class
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Male
  • Income
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Ecological Momentary Assessment
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Rivenbark, J. G., Copeland, W. E., Davisson, E. K., Gassman-Pines, A., Hoyle, R. H., Piontak, J. R., … Odgers, C. L. (2019). Perceived social status and mental health among young adolescents: Evidence from census data to cellphones. Dev Psychol, 55(3), 574–585. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000551
Rivenbark, Joshua G., William E. Copeland, Erin K. Davisson, Anna Gassman-Pines, Rick H. Hoyle, Joy R. Piontak, Michael A. Russell, Ann T. Skinner, and Candice L. Odgers. “Perceived social status and mental health among young adolescents: Evidence from census data to cellphones.Dev Psychol 55, no. 3 (March 2019): 574–85. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000551.
Rivenbark JG, Copeland WE, Davisson EK, Gassman-Pines A, Hoyle RH, Piontak JR, et al. Perceived social status and mental health among young adolescents: Evidence from census data to cellphones. Dev Psychol. 2019 Mar;55(3):574–85.
Rivenbark, Joshua G., et al. “Perceived social status and mental health among young adolescents: Evidence from census data to cellphones.Dev Psychol, vol. 55, no. 3, Mar. 2019, pp. 574–85. Pubmed, doi:10.1037/dev0000551.
Rivenbark JG, Copeland WE, Davisson EK, Gassman-Pines A, Hoyle RH, Piontak JR, Russell MA, Skinner AT, Odgers CL. Perceived social status and mental health among young adolescents: Evidence from census data to cellphones. Dev Psychol. 2019 Mar;55(3):574–585.

Published In

Dev Psychol

DOI

EISSN

1939-0599

Publication Date

March 2019

Volume

55

Issue

3

Start / End Page

574 / 585

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Social Perception
  • Social Class
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Male
  • Income
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Ecological Momentary Assessment