Subjective social status, symbolic capital, and psychopathology in adolescence.

Abstract

Adolescents’ ratings of subjective social status within their peer community may represent a useful index of socioeconomic status (SES) which is strongly associated with adolescent psychopathology. However, adolescent subjective social status does not correlate to traditional indicators of SES such as family income. Instead, subjective social status may reflect access to other forms of resources more salient to adolescents such as symbolic capital (behaviors and consumer goods symbolic of social position). I conducted a cultural consensus analysis based on interviews and questionnaire data from 66 students in two high schools in the Pacific Northwest to produce a consensually agreed upon set of symbolic capital markers in those schools. In a separately recruited sample of 80 adolescents, I tested associations between subjective social status, symbolic capital ownership, and psychopathology. Contrary to my hypotheses, subjective social status and symbolic capital were not correlated, although both were associated with parent rated social competence. Subjective social status was associated with psychopathology, but symbolic capital was not. My findings suggest that symbolic capital and subjective social status may convey different information about adolescents’ social competence, and that performing a high-status identity may be less important to socio-emotional functioning than perceiving oneself as well-liked and respected.