Class Identification and Psychological Variables Related to Well-being and Social Mobility

It has been reported in the literature that the socioeconomic level of subjects often does not correspond to their class identification, and that the latter is a better predictor of physical and psychological health variables. The objectives of this study were to provide evidence that class identification is largely independent of the socioeconomic level of subjects, and to verify the extent to which class identification is related to psychological factors (self-esteem, social support networks, strategies for coping with stress, depression, locus of control, achievement motivation and subjective well-being), and to the probability of experiencing upward social mobility. Participating in the study were 918 subjects, of whom 346 were extremely poor, 260 moderately poor and 312 were not poor. City districts in Mexico City and the larger metropolitan area were selected randomly. The results indicated a weak relationship between objective indicators of socioeconomic level and the class identification of subjects and a relationship between class identification and some of the psychological factors measured, and between the upward social mobility.