The Social Gradient in Adolescent Mental Health : What, Why and for Whom

Abstract

The concept of a ‘social gradient’ in adolescent mental health states that adolescent socioeconomic status (SES) is positively associated with mental health. Despite robust evidence for the association, several questions on the what, why, and for whom of this social gradient remain. First, what is the relative importance of three different indicators of adolescent SES – parental SES, adolescent perception of their family SES, and adolescent educational level – for adolescent mental health? Second, which adolescent-level mechanisms can explain the association between SES and mental health? Third, which adolescents are vulnerable to, or protected from, the adverse association between SES and mental health? The results showed, first, that adolescent perception of their family SES and adolescent educational level were more strongly positively associated with adolescent mental health than parental SES was. Second, two psychological processes mediated this social gradient among adolescents. A higher perception of their family SES was associated with more sense of control and stronger beliefs in a just world, and these processes were, in turn, associated with better mental health. Third, parental SES was more strongly associated with mental health for adolescents with lower (compared to higher) perception of their family SES, and for adolescents living in countries with stronger (compared to weaker) meritocratic beliefs (meaning that people generally believe that the world is just). The results of this dissertation emphasise that adolescents themselves – how they perceive their family SES, their educational level, and the way they see themselves in the world – are important in understanding this social gradient.