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Effects of Social Classes on Society
Social stratification refers to the method society uses to classify individuals according to socioeconomic factors including, occupation, gender, ethnicity, wealth, race, education and income (Gupta, 2018). It is associated with one's influence and the power derived from the hierarchies of social and political affluence. Social stratification is essential because it facilitates an individual's recognition in society according to their status, the position of power and prestige. On the other hand, social class refers to a form of social stratification that categorizes individuals according to their hierarchy in the economy. It is often divided into three tiers: upper class, middle class and lower class.
Social class categorizations affect individuals directly or indirectly by influencing their behaviors, way of living, and livelihood sources. Social classes are associated with one's ability to acquire, inherit or source for wealth, and these hierarchies are vital as they give an individual's position in society. Historically, social classes dictated mist mannerisms practiced by individuals, including their method of dressing, food and marriageability. For instance, ladies from the upper class communities adorned themselves with expensive jewelry and clothes with many layers of fabric. This was their identity, while their counterparts wore garments with fewer layers of fabric and no jewelry. This provided a clear social class distinction, and some viewed this as inequality (Durante, & Fiske, 2017).
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Social class defines a person's socioeconomic position and status based on their income, wealth, prestige, and education qualification, and it tends to directly affect societies in significant aspects such as family life, criminal justice, physical health and mental wellness. Family life is primarily affected, and family units from different social classes have various opportunities in society. Family life refers to one's ability to get married and sustain the relationship, childbearing patterns, household compositions and homestead stability. These are adversely affected by social classes as, according to statistics, the highest divorce cases are caused by financial issues and filed from spouses hailing from the lower class society. It is advisable to have a candid discussion on finances prior to getting into marriage or starting a family as lawyers point out that finances and unions from different social classes are among the top causes of divorce in the United States. Marriages from the upper class communities are less likely to break as most of them understand their partner's perspectives on finance, causing fewer disagreements, financial stress and class expectations. I experienced this through my cousin, whose husband hailed from a lower social class. They got married without discussing about finances. Needless to say, their marriage lasted less than a year, and finances were the leading cause of their separation.
Childbearing patterns are also directly affected by social class in the community. According to global statistics, developing economies with a large population of the lower class community has recorded an increased population of children and childbearing individuals, compared to the developed countries with a large population of wealthy individuals. This indicates that income and wealth are significant factors in the development of a family, and there is a distinct relationship between a nation's economic growth and the number of children per household. This is the reason why underdeveloped countries are struggling with overpopulation, while developed countries are addressing under population and low birth rates (Kraus et al., 2017). I believe that even though individuals from the lower class community get more children, they are unable to provide a quality lifestyle for them, and they end up increasing their poverty. I witnessed this from my trip community service trip to Makoko slums in Nigeria.
In the aspect of household composition, Social class is also a distinct factor. Evidently, individuals from a single-parent household often fall under the lower class and sometimes the middle class position in society. This is due to the significant factor that a household with two parents is seen as the norm in society and generates a double income to the individuals. A dual parent household often acquires both financial and social stability. In a single-parent household, there is much pressure to provide for child support, the disadvantage of lower earnings and the loss of a second income. Individuals from this type of household rarely make it to the upper class community.
Social class is also a major determinant of an individual's health, both mental and physical. Socioeconomic factors such as environmental pollution and distribution of grocery stores according to social class could cause environmental hazards that pose risks in the society. An individual's social class determines their physical health based on their ability to receive quality healthcare, life expectancy and acquisition of nutrition. Socioeconomic factors also affect a person's living and working conditions. They also determine one's chances of contracting a disease, getting injured and their health vulnerability. For instance, a person from the upper class community will acquire reliable healthcare insurance that could get them quality healthcare provision in most developed hospitals. In contrast, an individual from the lower class society might not afford this and end up settling for government-provided insurance, which might not be reliable.
Individuals from the lower class community also live in sub-standard living conditions and this environment poses as a risk to their physical health. Some live in slums where hygiene is not emphasized, and the individuals, especially children, end up contracting communicable diseases that might be fatal (Kramer et al., 2017). This is not the case in wealthier communities where hygiene is observed. In lower class neighborhoods, there have been reports of an increased crime rate and violence. This aspect is of great danger to families from the lower class communities as one could quickly encounter an incident of robbery with violence. Wealthier neighborhoods are free from this problem as they have enough resources to hire reliable security in their homes. Access to health care facilities is more challenging for the lower class as most facilities situated in their areas are often overcrowded with inadequate service provision. This could also be a result of the increasing population amongst the lower class community.
Mental health and wellness are also determined by the social class influence. Members of different social classes experience different strains in their mental wellness. Members of the lower class communities often experience psychological pressure to obtain finances and run their households. The upper class individuals experience stress associated with matters concerning their elite circles, which might look like a no brainer to a lower class individual. The upper class has the advantage of mental health awareness, and they can easily access treatment for diagnosed cases. Lower class individuals often lack mental health awareness, and most of them suffer in silence with the fear of being victimized and labelled to be crazy. They also have little to no access to mental health facilities and reliable health insurance that covers their mental wellness. This is the main reason for the rising mental health cases within the lower class population. It is a definite right for an individual, no matter their social class, to acquire quality health care (both mental and physical). The government should act on these statistics and provide accessible and affordable healthcare centers in low class neighborhoods to promote equality and attempt to bridge the rising social class gap.
References
Durante, F., & Fiske, S. T. (2017). How social-class stereotypes maintain inequality. Current opinion in psychology , 18 , 43-48.
Gupta, D. (2018). Social stratification. Oxford University Press.
Kramer, M. R., Schneider, E. B., Kane, J. B., Margerison-Zilko, C., Jones-Smith, J., King, K., ... & Grzywacz, J. G. (2017). Getting under the skin: Children's health disparities as embodiment of social class. Population research and policy review , 36 (5), 671-697.
Kraus, M. W., Park, J. W., & Tan, J. J. (2017). Signs of social class: The experience of economic inequality in everyday life. Perspectives on Psychological Science , 12 (3), 422-435.
