Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28726474›Full record

SynthesisHealth psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association2017

Is subjective social status a unique correlate of physical health? A meta-analysis.

Jenny M Cundiff, Karen A Matthews

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 107 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
107citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

107 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Self-enhancement and physical health: A meta-analysis.The British journal of social psychology · 2023
    Pooled it
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  14. Subjective social standing and lower urinary tract symptoms among Black and White women and men in four regions of the United States.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2025
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  15. Observational
  16. Review
  17. Article
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47 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Jenny M CundiffDepartment of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University.ORCID 0000-0002-4477-3262
Karen A MatthewsDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychology and Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh.

Funding

CARDIOVASCULAR BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE RESEARCH TRAININGT32HL007560 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · PI Peter J Gianaros, REBECCA C THURSTON · 1985 to 2026
$11.3M
NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL007560NIH HHS
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveBoth social stratification (e.g., social rank) as well as economic resources (e.g., income) are thought to contribute to socioeconomic health disparities. It has been proposed that subjective socioeconomic status (an individual's perception of his or her hierarchical rank) provides increased predictive utility for physical health over and above more traditional, well-researched socioeconomic constructs such as education, occupation, and income.

methodPsycINFO and PubMed databases were systematically searched for studies examining the association of subjective socioeconomic status (SES) and physical health adjusting for at least 1 measure of objective SES. The final sample included 31 studies and 99 unique effects. Meta-analyses were performed to: (a) estimate the overlap among subjective and objective indicators of SES and (b) estimate the cumulative association of subjective SES with physical health adjusting for objective SES. Potential moderators such as race and type of health indicator assessed (global self-reports vs. more specific and biologically based indicators) were also examined.

resultsAcross samples, subjective SES shows moderate overlap with objective indicators of SES, but associations are much stronger in Whites than Blacks. Subjective SES evidenced a unique cumulative association with physical health in adults, above and beyond traditional objective indicators of SES (Z = .07, SE = .01, p < .05). This association was stronger for self-rated health than for biologically based and symptom-specific measures of health. Almost all available data were cross-sectional and do not allow for strong causal inference.

conclusionsSubjective SES may provide unique information relevant to understanding disparities in health, especially self-rated health. (PsycINFO Database Record

Indexed as

Health StatusSocial ClassCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleSelf Report

Identifiers

PMID28726474
PMCPMC5709157

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.