Daily Interpersonal Experience Partially Explains the Association Between Social Rank and Physical Health

Socioeconomic position is a well-established risk factor for poor physical health.

This study examines whether the effects of lower social rank on physical health may be accounted for by differences in daily social experience.

In a large community sample (N = 475), we examined whether subjective social rank is associated with self-rated health, in part, through positive and negative perceptions of daily interpersonal interactions, assessed using ecological momentary assessment.

Higher social rank was associated with higher average perceived positivity of social interactions in daily life (e.g., B = .18, p < .001), but not with perceived negativity of social interactions. Further, the association between social rank and self-rated physical health was partially accounted for by differences in perceived positivity of social interactions. This effect was independent of well-characterized objective markers of SES and personality traits.

Differences in the quality of day-to-day social interactions is a viable pathway linking lower social rank to poorer physical health.