IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v285y2021ics0277953621005955.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

‘Known to be unhealthy’: Exploring how social epidemiological research constructs the category of low socioeconomic status

Author

Listed:
  • Dijkstra, Ilse
  • Horstman, Klasien

Abstract

We examine how the category of low socioeconomic status (LSES) was constructed in European social epidemiological research and policy advice from 1977 to 2019. We analysed 22 empirical social epidemiological research publications on LSES and health, as well as six scientific advisory reports that offered government officials an overview of scientific evidence on health inequalities. We show the construction and reification of LSES as a problematic group in dominant thought, which consists of the following components: 1) the proliferation of SES concepts, indicators and groups labelled LSES; 2) generalisation through which LSES is constructed as a single population; 3) problematisation through which LSES is constructed as an inherently unhealthy population; and 4) individualisation by which a LSES personality is presented as an explanation of health differences. We also show how this knowledge is extrapolated into the policy domain in the form of scientific advisory reports. These findings provide evidence of the construction of LSES as an inherently unhealthy population through hyperproliferation and references to the objectivity of scientific research. With respect to the LSES category, the dynamics of research and policy resemble those regarding categories of ethnicity and gender. We conclude that if the construction of LSES remains unquestioned, social epidemiology might continue to (re)produce what it examines: LSES populations ‘known to be unhealthy’.

Suggested Citation

  • Dijkstra, Ilse & Horstman, Klasien, 2021. "‘Known to be unhealthy’: Exploring how social epidemiological research constructs the category of low socioeconomic status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:285:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621005955
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114263
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621005955
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114263?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlijn B M Kamphuis & Tessa Jansen & Johan P Mackenbach & Frank J van Lenthe, 2015. "Bourdieu’s Cultural Capital in Relation to Food Choices: A Systematic Review of Cultural Capital Indicators and an Empirical Proof of Concept," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Christensen, Vibeke T. & Carpiano, Richard M., 2014. "Social class differences in BMI among Danish women: Applying Cockerham's health lifestyles approach and Bourdieu's theory of lifestyle," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 12-21.
    3. Phelan, Jo C. & Lucas, Jeffrey W. & Ridgeway, Cecilia L. & Taylor, Catherine J., 2014. "Stigma, status, and population health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 15-23.
    4. Hatzenbuehler, M.L. & Phelan, J.C. & Link, B.G., 2013. "Stigma as a fundamental cause of population health inequalities," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(5), pages 813-821.
    5. Hoffmann, Rasmus & Kröger, Hannes & Pakpahan, Eduwin, 2018. "Pathways between socioeconomic status and health: Does health selection or social causation dominate in Europe?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 36, pages 23-36.
    6. Smith, Katherine Elizabeth, 2007. "Health inequalities in Scotland and England: the contrasting journeys of ideas from research into policy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(7), pages 1438-1449, April.
    7. Joost Oude Groeniger & Carlijn B. M. Kamphuis & Johan P. Mackenbach & Mariëlle A. Beenackers & Frank J. Lenthe, 2019. "Are socio-economic inequalities in diet and physical activity a matter of social distinction? A cross-sectional study," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(7), pages 1037-1047, September.
    8. Schrijvers, C.T.M. & Stronks, K. & Van De Mheen, H.D. & Mackenbach, J.P., 1999. "Explaining educational differences in mortality: The role of behavioral and material factors," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 89(4), pages 535-540.
    9. McCartney, Gerry & Collins, Chik & Mackenzie, Mhairi, 2013. "What (or who) causes health inequalities: Theories, evidence and implications?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(3), pages 221-227.
    10. Visser, Sanne Siete & Haisma, Hinke, 2021. "Fulfilling food practices: Applying the capability approach to ethnographic research in the Northern Netherlands," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    11. Collyer, Taya A. & Smith, Katherine E., 2020. "An atlas of health inequalities and health disparities research: “How is this all getting done in silos, and why?”," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    12. Cook, Jonathan E. & Purdie-Vaughns, Valerie & Meyer, Ilan H. & Busch, Justin T.A., 2014. "Intervening within and across levels: A multilevel approach to stigma and public health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 101-109.
    13. Proctor, Alana & Krumeich, Anja & Meershoek, Agnes, 2011. "Making a difference: The construction of ethnicity in HIV and STI epidemiological research by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(11), pages 1838-1845, June.
    14. Kawachi, Ichiro & Subramanian, S.V., 2018. "Social epidemiology for the 21st century," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 240-245.
    15. Graham, Hilary, 2002. "Building an inter-disciplinary science of health inequalities: the example of lifecourse research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(11), pages 2005-2016, December.
    16. Davidson, Rosemary & Kitzinger, Jenny & Hunt, Kate, 2006. "The wealthy get healthy, the poor get poorly? Lay perceptions of health inequalities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(9), pages 2171-2182, May.
    17. Dorothy Porter, 2006. "How Did Social Medicine Evolve, and Where Is It Heading?," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(10), pages 1-6, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Coetzer, Jessica A. & Loukili, Ibrahim & Goedhart, Nicole S. & Ket, Johannes C.F. & Schuitmaker-Warnaar, Tjerk Jan & Zuiderent-Jerak, Teun & Dedding, Christine, 2024. "The potential and paradoxes of eHealth research for digitally marginalised groups: A qualitative meta-review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mayank Aggarwal & Anindya S. Chakrabarti & Chirantan Chatterjee, 2023. "Movies, stigma and choice: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1019-1039, May.
    2. Garthwaite, Kayleigh & Bambra, Clare, 2017. "“How the other half live”: Lay perspectives on health inequalities in an age of austerity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 268-275.
    3. Smith-Morris, Carolyn, 2017. "Epidemiological placism in public health emergencies: Ebola in two Dallas neighborhoods," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 106-114.
    4. King, Wesley M. & Hughto, Jaclyn M.W. & Operario, Don, 2020. "Transgender stigma: A critical scoping review of definitions, domains, and measures used in empirical research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    5. Cadden, Margaret H. & Arnett, Peter A. & Tyry, Tuula M. & Cook, Jonathan E., 2018. "Judgment hurts: The psychological consequences of experiencing stigma in multiple sclerosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 158-164.
    6. Fubaihui Wang & Qingkai Zhen & Kaigang Li & Xu Wen, 2018. "Association of socioeconomic status and health-related behavior with elderly health in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, September.
    7. Gaddis, S. Michael & Ramirez, Daniel & Hernandez, Erik L., 2018. "Contextualizing public stigma: Endorsed mental health treatment stigma on college and university campuses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 183-191.
    8. Clair, Matthew & Daniel, Caitlin & Lamont, Michèle, 2016. "Destigmatization and health: Cultural constructions and the long-term reduction of stigma," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 223-232.
    9. White Hughto, Jaclyn M. & Reisner, Sari L. & Pachankis, John E., 2015. "Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 222-231.
    10. Omar T. Sims & Jhumka Gupta & Stacey A. Missmer & Irene O. Aninye, 2021. "Stigma and Endometriosis: A Brief Overview and Recommendations to Improve Psychosocial Well-Being and Diagnostic Delay," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-12, August.
    11. Carmen H Logie & Jesse I R Jenkinson & Valerie Earnshaw & Wangari Tharao & Mona R Loutfy, 2016. "A Structural Equation Model of HIV-Related Stigma, Racial Discrimination, Housing Insecurity and Wellbeing among African and Caribbean Black Women Living with HIV in Ontario, Canada," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, September.
    12. Robert J. Cramer & Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling & Andrea R. Kaniuka & Corrine N. Wilsey & Annelise Mennicke & Susan Wright & Erika Montanaro & Jessamyn Bowling & Kristin E. Heron, 2020. "Preferences in Information Processing, Marginalized Identity, and Non-Monogamy: Understanding Factors in Suicide-Related Behavior among Members of the Alternative Sexuality Community," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-17, May.
    13. Karen M. Davison & Vidhi Thakkar & Shen (Lamson) Lin & Lorna Stabler & Maura MacPhee & Simon Carroll & Benjamin Collins & Zachary Rezler & Jake Colautti & Chaoqun (Cherry) Xu & Esme Fuller-Thomson & B, 2021. "Interventions to Support Mental Health among Those with Health Conditions That Present Risk for Severe Infection from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Scoping Review of English and Chinese-Langu," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-22, July.
    14. Gugushvili, Alexi & Zelinska, Olga & Präg, Patrick & Bulczak, Grzegorz, 2022. "Does perceived social mobility affect health? Evidence from a fixed effects approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    15. Layland, Eric K. & Maggs, Jennifer L. & Kipke, Michele D. & Bray, Bethany C., 2022. "Intersecting racism and homonegativism among sexual minority men of color: Latent class analysis of multidimensional stigma with subgroup differences in health and sociostructural burdens," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    16. Bruce C. Martin & Benson Honig, 2020. "Inclusive Management Research: Persons with Disabilities and Self-Employment Activity as an Exemplar," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 553-575, October.
    17. Mäkinen, Tomi & Laaksonen, Mikko & Lahelma, Eero & Rahkonen, Ossi, 2006. "Associations of childhood circumstances with physical and mental functioning in adulthood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(8), pages 1831-1839, April.
    18. Jacobs, Susan & Quinn, Joseph, 2022. "Cultural reproduction of mental illness stigma and stereotypes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    19. Vonneilich, Nico & Lüdecke, Daniel & von dem Knesebeck, Olaf, 2020. "Educational inequalities in self-rated health and social relationships – analyses based on the European Social Survey 2002-2016," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    20. Decataldo, Alessandra & Fiore, Brunella, 2018. "Is eating in the school canteen better to fight overweight? A sociological observational study on nutrition in Italian children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 246-256.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:285:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621005955. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.