Cited by 672Health disparities and outcomesResilience and Mental HealthEmployment and Welfare Studies

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Socioeconomic Status Differences in Vulnerability to Undesirable Life Events

McLeod, Jane D., Kessler, Ronald C.·1990·Journal of Health and Social Behavior

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Abstract

Previous research has documented consistently that persons holding low-socioeconomic status (SES) positions are more strongly affected emotionally by undesirable life events than are their higher-status counterparts. Two types of resources have been implicated in this differential vulnerability: financial resources and a broader class of coping resources, including social support and resilient personality characteristics. We present an analysis that disaggregates measure of life events and of SES to identify which events and which components of SES are most important for understanding differential vulnerability. We document that the lower-SES vulnerability persists across all types of personal events. In addition, we find that differential vulnerability is not confined to income but extends to education and occupational status as well. On the basis of these patterns, we conclude that differential vulnerability reflects more than a simple economic reality. Previous research offers speculative evidence that status differences in past and current social environments may explain differential vulnerability, especially through their effects on the socialization of resilient personality characteristics. We propose future research that could help to evaluate the validity of these speculations.

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“Thus, do some individuals seek out and experience ritualized dissociations more than others? And what is the effect of such dissociative behaviors on acolyte’s well-being? This article, utilizing both recent field insights and a re-examination of PewResearch data, hypothesizes that because low socioeconomic status (SE…”
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Wielpuetz, C., Kuepper, Y., Grant, P. S., Munk, A. J. L., & Hennig, J. (2014) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2013.12.023 · Cited by 3
Perception of Neighborhood Environments and Self-rated Health in Hong Kong
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“The more educated are less emotionally responsive and report a higher sense of control and greater self–esteem when face with negative life events.(67,68)”
Chronic Stress and the Role of Coping Behaviors in Health Inequalities
Kershaw, K. N., Rafferty, J., Abdou, C. M., Colbert, S. J. J., Knight, K. M., & Jackson, J. (2009) · Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics · doi:10.1891/0198-8794.29.161 · Cited by 2
“Several studies report that lower SES individuals have a more limited set of coping resources at their disposal compared to those with more income or education (McEwen, 1998; McLeod & Kessler, 1990; Mirowsky & Ross, 1986; Myers, Lindenthal, & Pepper, 1975; Pearlin & Schooler, 1978).”
Background
Social Class as a Moderator of Income Effects on Stress and Health Outcomes across Nine Years
DeGarmo, D. S., & Capaldi, D. (1999) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb08128.x · Cited by 2
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Wisman, R. (2017) · doi:10.18297/etd/2786 · Cited by 2
“…myriad other outcomes, such as longevity, risk factors for disease, depression, expected lifetime earnings, etc. (Adler & Rehkopf, 2008; Adler & Snibbe, 2003; Kessler & Cleary, 1980; Mather, Banks, Joshy, Bauman, Phongsavan, & Korda, 2014; Matthews, Gallo, & Taylor, 2010; McLeod & Kessler, 1990).”
Societal Legacies of Risk and Protection in the Reproduction of Health Disparities
Hardy, M. (2016) · Public Policy & Aging Report · doi:10.1093/ppar/prw004 · Cited by 2
Gender Differences in Emotional Reactivity to Daily Life Stress in Major Depressive Disorder: Thesis Paper.
Sharma, P. (2014) · doi:10.9790/0853-13715559 · Cited by 2
“Similar observations were made by Kessler 1979 10 and McLeod and Kessler 1990 11 .”
Result
L’effet de l’âge, du genre et du statut socioéconomique sur l’utilisation des services de médecine générale pour des symptômes de détresse psychologique
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Zambon, A., Lemma, P., Dalmasso, P., Borraccino, A., & Cavallo, F. (2024) · Italian Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2427/5881 · Cited by 1
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“…make youth more likely, oftentimes because of lower self-esteem and self-confidence, to be socially withdrawn and excluded by peers, increasing their vulnerability to bullying and thus negatively influencing the overall interactions with peers (McLeod & Kessler, 1990; Chen et al., 2021).”
Neighborhood-level economic characteristics and depression and PTSD symptoms among Houstonians who have experienced Hurricane Harvey and COVID-19
Cohen, G. H., Wang, R., Rosenberg, S. B., Sampson, L., Lowe, S. R., Cabral, H., Ruggiero, K. J., & Galea, S. (2024) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2024.115766 · Cited by 1
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Elanthiraiyan, R., & Priyanath, H. (2023) · Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities · doi:10.4038/sljssh.v3i2.112 · Cited by 1
“McLeod and Kessler (1990) concluded that low-income persons have been shown to feel less in control as a result of a greater frequency of undesirable life events associated with an inability to purchase essential goods and services.”
Happiness Scholarship and Redistributive Preferences
Rauf, T., & Jeremy Freese, A. (2023) · Social Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.1177/01902725231189258 · Cited by 1
“…rates of psychological distress among the poor to their greater exposure to adverse life events and every-day stressors (Businelle et al. 2014; McLeod and Kessler 1990), while another shows that socioeconomic disadvantage decreases sense of control over the environment, which in turn is…”

Authors: McLeod, J. D., & Kessler, R. C.
Affiliations: University of Minnesota (US)
ORCID: McLeod, Jane D.
Kessler, Ronald C.
Venue: Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 1990-06
Volume: 31
Issue: 2
Pages: 162
ISSN: 0022-1465 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.2307/2137170
OpenAlex: W2013102688
Cited by: 672
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 24
FWCI: 18.36
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Journal of Health and Social Behavior (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institutes of Health (5k02mh000507-08)
National Institute of Mental Health (1R01 MH-30479, 1K02 MH00507, T32MH016806)
Topics: Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Employment and Welfare Studies
Keywords: socioeconomic status, differential vulnerability, coping resources, social support, resilience, financial resources, income, occupational status, social environment
MeSH terms: Adaptation, Psychological, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Social Class, Social Support

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Socioeconomic Status Differences in Vulnerability to Undesirable Life Events

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