Subjective Social Status as a Predictor of Physical and Mental Health among Early Midlife Adults in the United States: Appraising the Role of Gender

Literature indicates that subjective social status (SSS) is a robust predictor of health outcomes net of objective social status (OSS). However, research that has considered gender in the relationship between SSS and health is limited. Using 2016-2018 data from the Wave V biomarker sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we investigate the relationship between SSS and two health outcomes-allostatic load and depressive symptoms-and the moderating role of gender in these relationships among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults (ages 33-44 years) (n = 5,269). We find that SSS is inversely associated with both allostatic load and depressive symptoms, net of OSS. Moreover, we find that gender significantly moderates the SSS-allostatic load relationship but not the SSS-depressive symptoms relationship. Specifically, SSS has a greater impact on allostatic load among women than men. Future research should explore the underlying psychosocial mechanisms that contribute to these gender differences.