The Effects of Subjective Social Class on Subjective Well-Being and Mental Health: A Moderated Mediation Model

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 20; no. 5; p. 4200
• Main Authors: Li, Kai, Yu, Feng, Zhang, Yanchi, Guo, Yongyu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; China - epidemiology; Class differences; College students; Economic development; Economic growth; Education; Happiness; Humans; Mediation; Mental Health; Power; Psychological aspects; Questionnaires; Social Class; Social classes; Social Mobility; Society; Socioeconomic Factors; Standard of living; Upward mobility; Well being; Western society; China; subjective social mobility; self-class discrepancy; subjective social class; mental health; subjective well-being
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20054200

In recent decades, China’s rapid economic growth has substantially improved average living standards; however, this has not been accompanied by greater happiness among the Chinese population. This phenomenon is known as the Easterlin Paradox (i.e., there is no link between a society’s economic development and its average level of happiness) in Western countries. This study examined the effects of subjective social class on subjective well-being and mental health in China. Consequently, we found that individuals in a relatively low social class had lower levels of subjective well-being and mental health; self-class discrepancy partially explains the relationship between subjective social class and subjective well-being and fully explains the relationship between subjective social class and mental health; and subjective social mobility moderates the path from self-class discrepancy to subjective well-being and mental health. These findings suggest that enhancing social mobility is an important method for reducing class differences in subjective well-being and mental health. These results have important implications, indicating that enhancing social mobility is an important method for reducing class differences in subjective well-being and mental health in China.