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Cited by 59Bullying, Victimization, and AggressionPrimate Behavior and EcologyStress Responses and Cortisol

Social Stratification, Health, and Violence in the Very Young

BOYCE, W THOMAS·2004·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1196/annals.1330.003
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Abstract

A bstract: Inequalities in human social groups contribute in important ways to the initiation and perpetuation of violence. Because both social inequalities and interpersonal aggression emerge in early life, it is important to study their developmental origins in the collective and individual behavior of young children. As young as 2 years of age, children assemble stable, linearly transitive dominance hierarchies when brought together in novel social groups. Just as the consequences of socioeconomic status may be due in part to experiences of social ordering per se, subjective childhood experiences of occupying a lesser or greater position on a scale of social influence may similarly affect health, safety, and behavior in early development. Children's experiences with social ordering may represent a first, formative encounter with the hierarchical social relations that affect health and susceptibility to violence over the human lifespan. We have studied the health correlates of group stressors, dominance positions, and biobehavioral reactivity within cohorts of preschool children and semi free‐ranging rhesus macaques. Social position is ascertained using naturalistic observations of critical dyadic events, and stress‐reactivity is measured using assessments of behavioral and biological responses to standardized challenges. Outcome measures, including indicators of mental and physical health and interpersonal injuries, have been assessed—in the case of children—with parent‐ and teacher‐report questionnaires, child self‐report protocols, and frequent, objective physical examinations of the child and—in the case of rhesus monkeys—with daily observations of violence‐related injuries. Results to date have suggested the following provisional conclusions: (1) Children and monkeys form stable, linearly transitive social hierarchies in which identifiable subgroups of individuals occupy dominant and subordinate social positions. (2) Individuals occupying subordinate positions within the social group show exaggerated adrenocortical and/or autonomic reactivity to challenge and disproportionate rates of chronic medical conditions or violent injuries. (3) Stress‐reactivity, naturally occurring stressors, and social position are interactively predictive of rates of morbidity. Monkeys who displayed high biobehavioral reactivity sustained disproportionate numbers of violent injuries during a confinement stressor. Children who were high in the dominance hierarchy and low in reactivity showed significantly higher rates of externalizing mental health symptoms, while those who were in subordinate social positions and high in reactivity showed higher prevalences of internalizing symptoms. In conclusion, the prevention of youth violence—and other forms of early disorder—will require a deeper, developmental understanding of the “headwaters” of aggression and victimization in early childhood and a stronger accounting of how early social inequalities set trajectories toward healthy or disordered behavior.

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Crossref · 10.1196/annals.1330.003

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  • A large body of evidence documents SES gradients for nearly all major peripheral biological parameters, including HPA axis regulation, SNS activity, heart rate variability, resting blood pressure, reaction to challenge, lipids/metabolic risks, inflammation, and relative weight and fat distribution patterns.

    “Indeed, a large body of evidence documents SES gradients for nearly all major peripheral biological parameters, including those reflecting HPA axis regulation, 60,62,66,70,72,[81][82][83][84][85] SNS activity, 60,71,72,81,83,85 heart rate variability (an index of autonomic balance), 60,[86][87][88] resting blood pressure, 61,66,69,83,89- and reaction to challenge (see Ref. 93 for review), lipids/m”

    From Socio‐economic differentials in peripheral biology: Cumulative allostatic load (2010) · cites this paper as [60]

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Authors
BOYCE, W. T.
Affiliations
University of California, Berkeley (US)
Corresponding author
BOYCE, W THOMAS
ORCID
BOYCE, W THOMAS
Venue
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2004-12
Volume
1036
Issue
1
Pages
47-68
ISSN
  • 0077-8923 (ISSN-L)
  • 1749-6632
DOI
10.1196/annals.1330.003
OpenAlex
W2159150895
Cited by
59
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
FWCI
0.00
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 407 d)
Locations
  • Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01mh062320-05)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH44340, R01-MH062320, R01MH044340)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
Keywords
social stratification, social inequality, dominance hierarchy, early childhood, youth violence, stress reactivity, socioeconomic status, rhesus monkeys, adrenocortical reactivity, autonomic reactivity, violent injury, externalizing problems, internalizing problems, child health, aggression, victimization, social status
MeSH terms
Animals, Mental Disorders, Child, Preschool, Female, Health Status, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Severity of Illness Index, Social Class, Social Dominance, Stress, Psychological, Wounds and Injuries

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