Socio-economic status and subjective well-being

Increasing socio-economic status is associated with increasing levels of subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is in turn associated with physical and mental health. In this study, socio-economic gradients in subjective well-being are investigated in a large cross-section of the British population. Higher socioeconomic groups are more satisfied with life and have fewer psychosomatic symptoms. They also have higher incomes, and higher levels of perceived personal control of their lives. Path analysis is used to demonstrate that income explains neither their higher level of personal control nor their greater well-being. It is argued that the nature of high status work itself provides increased autonomy, and through this, increased well-being. Income does not appear to be causally important, since low earners with high perceived control have greater subjective well-being than high earners with low control. Implications for socio-economic gradients in health are discussed.