Journal 17.1 - The Emotional Side of Socioeconomic Status: Lassiter (PDF)

Volume 17, Number 1

THE EMOTIONAL SIDE OF SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
Laurie Lassiter, PhD
Can Murray Bowen’s observations about the health and illness consequences of one’s position in the family be extended to an understanding of the significant effects of socioeconomic status on health and well-being? Research shows that negative health effects are linked to low socioeconomic status, even when people live in a safe neighborhood and have access to healthy food, good medical care, and transportation. Feeling rejected and not part of the larger society is linked to increased inflammation and poor health. Individuals who live in poverty but attend religious organizations and feel part of a community are more likely to avoid the ill health associated with low income. The Whitehall research of stratified British civil servants revealed that health follows rank, even in situations in which a person’s occupation, such as physician, is high status outside of the civil service rank order. The human version of primate hierarchy, socioeconomic status, is generally stressful, as even those of high status and income compare themselves to others. Bowen theory offers a way to understand the instinctive/emotional forces that regulate people outside of their awareness in their reactions to status or lack of status.
Keywords: socioeconomic status, health, gene expression, primate hierarchy, inflammation, immune system.