Socioeconomic status, psychosocial processes, and perceived health: an interpersonal perspective

Psychosocial variables, including stress, emotions, and social factors, may contribute to the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and health. Concepts and methods from interpersonal theory (1) could provide a useful framework for research concerning the roles of psychosocial factors in socioeconomic health disparities.

We examined the association between SES and psychosocial processes captured by the interpersonal circumplex and tested the degree to which circumplex ratings explained the association between SES and perceived health.

San Diego community residents (N = 304; 51% male; 34% Latino; 50% White; 20% Black; 6.8% Asian/Asian American; 2.9% another ethnicity) completed a circumplex-based assessment of several social contexts (home, work, and community), the SF-12 measure of perceived health, and questions concerning demographic characteristics.

Multilevel models revealed that individuals with lower SES described their social worlds as more hostile and less friendly compared with their higher SES counterparts. Furthermore, lower SES was associated with perceptions of exposure to more dominant or controlling behavior from others, compared with higher SES. Appraisals of hostility versus friendliness, in particular, helped explain the inverse association between SES and some aspects of perceived health.

Applications of interpersonal theory may be useful in efforts to understand the roles of psychosocial factors in SES-related health disparities.