Subjective social status and common mental disorders in the Swedish working population: gender and age differences in...

To investigate predictors and common mental disorder outcomes of subjective social status in different gender and age groups of Swedish employees.

Data from eight waves of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), collected between 2006 and 2020, were used (n=12,925). Fixed effects models were used to investigate whether changes in demographic and socioeconomic factors predicted changes in subjective social status and whether changes in subjective social status, in turn, affected symptoms of depression and sleep disturbances. The analyses were stratified by gender (female/male) and age (21-35/36-50 years).

Across groups, the most consistent predictors of changes in subjective social status were being promoted during the past two years and a change in occupational status. An increase in subjective social status was associated with a decrease in symptoms of depression among women in both age groups and among men in the older age group. The association was stronger in younger women than in older women (p=0.042). For both women and men in the older age group, an increase in subjective social status was associated with a decrease in symptoms of sleep disturbances.

Occupational level was the most important predictor of subjective social status across groups, and subjective social status predicted common mental disorder, even after adjusting for socioeconomic status indicators. Changes in subjective social status affected young working women's depressive symptoms in particular, while older workers showed an association between subjective social status and symptoms of sleep disturbances.