Relational Social Class, Self-Rated Health, and Mortality in the United States

Abstract

Applying a relational class theory based on property ownership, authority, and credentials/skill, we analyzed the relationship between class, self-rated health (SRH), and mortality using the 1972–2016 General Social Survey. In a simple measure of class, we assigned respondents to worker, manager, petty bourgeois, or capitalist classes. In a complex measure, we subdivided workers (less-skilled/more-skilled), managers (low/high), and capitalists (small/large). Next, we estimated trends in class structure. Finally, after gender-stratification, we estimated the relationships between class, SRH, and mortality and, in sensitivity analyses, tested for class-by-race interaction. Class structure changed little over time, with workers constituting over half the population each decade. Concerning SRH, for the simple measure, managers, petty bourgeoisie, and capitalists reported better health than workers. For the complex measure, patterns were similar, although skilled workers reported better health than less-skilled workers, low managers, and petty bourgeoisie. Concerning mortality, for the simple measure, inequities were small among women; among men, only capitalists’ hazard was lower than workers’ hazard. For the complex measure, across genders, the hazards of less-skilled workers and petty bourgeoisie were highest, while skilled workers’ hazard resembled that of managers and capitalists. Finally, we found some evidence that the relationship between class and mortality varied by race, although the estimates were imprecise.