Week 6: Socioeconomic Position, Employment, Work, and Education

30 vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from Week 6: Socioeconomic Position, Employment, Work, and Education.

Socioeconomic Position (SEP)

An individual's position in the social stratification system defined by work/occupation, employment status, and educational attainment; captures both social stratification and social class and predicts patterns of mortality and morbidity.

Social stratification

Social hierarchies in which individuals or groups can be arranged along a ranked order of attributes (e.g., income, education), and these differences predict health.

Social class

A division defined by relations of ownership or control over productive resources (physical, financial, organizational).

Social stratum

An alternative term for the levels within social stratification.

Social or socioeconomic status

An alternative term for SEP; the position within the stratification/class system.

Social determinants of health (SDOH)

A framework that includes SEP and related social factors as determinants of health.

Inequality

Inequality emerges as a system of social stratification or social hierarchy.

Social gradient

The pattern where people lower in SEP have worse health and those higher in SEP have better health, forming a stepwise improvement.

Whitehall studies

Classic 1970s British civil servants study showing a strong link between social class and health/mortality, with worse health in lower-status jobs.

Job status

Position in an occupational hierarchy; associated with income, degree of control, benefits, and health risks/benefits.

Psychosocial job stressors

Demands, control, and rewards at work; contribute to the health gradient and allostatic load.

Job strain

High demands combined with low control at work; linked to hypertension and poorer health.

Allostatic load

Wear and tear on the body from chronic stress, potentially suppressing immune function and raising disease risk.

Physical hazards

Workplace physical risks and injuries, including exposure to physical hazards.

Chemical hazards

Exposure to hazardous chemicals and toxic materials in the workplace.

Healthy work organization

Work design and safety culture that can reduce injuries; high-strain jobs raise disability risk; organizational interventions may improve outcomes.

Employment contract

The nature of the employment relationship; influences health gradient through stability, rights, and protections.

Unemployment

Being without work or in unstable employment; associated with poorer health and worse outcomes compared to stable, regular employment.

Job insecurity

Perceived or real threat of job loss; prolonged insecurity harms mental health and perceived health status.

Contingent work

Nonstandard or temporary employment; part of precarious employment.

Precarious employment

Poorly paid, unprotected, and insecure work; exists on a continuum from secure to precarious.

Standard employment relations

Historical model (1950–1970) with welfare states, unions, and regulated hiring/firing, benefits, and rights (often male-dominated).

Informal employment

Employment lacking formal protections and often unregulated, occurring in informal sectors.

Educational attainment

Level of formal education; higher attainment linked to better health and employment opportunities.

Postsecondary education (PSE)

Education beyond secondary school; increasingly a minimum requirement for securing well-resourced employment.

Life expectancy at age 25 by education

Life expectancy at age 25 varies with educational level, with higher education associated with longer life.

Infant mortality rate by mother's education

Infant mortality rates vary by mother's level of education, with lower rates at higher education levels.

Health knowledge

Knowledge about health-related topics that informs decisions and behaviors.

Health literacy

Ability to obtain, understand, and use health information to make appropriate health decisions.

Social support

Perceived or actual support from social networks that can influence health outcomes.