Social Stress, Socioeconomic Status, and Elderly Health

Zhang Yun

The impact of stress on chronic diseases has long been emphasized by epidemical researchers, while in recent years, sociologists have also developed their interest in the relationship between socioeconomic status and social stress. This research is based on the empirical data of Chines Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS), and the research results show that there is a significant negative correlation between social pressure and socio-economic status, which means higher social pressure corresponds to lower social and economic status, and vice versa. Moreover, the degree of negative impact of social pressure on health varies among different socioeconomic groups. To be specific, social pressure deprives more on health of the lower socioeconomic elderly groups, while higher socioeconomic elderly groups are less impacted by the negative effects of social pressure on health. It can be suggested that social pressure plays an important role in explaining health inequalities.

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 Presented in Session 6. Health & Mortality & Aging