
Structured physical activity has demonstrated effectiveness in low-SES populations, and geomapping may be used to identify targets for large-scale programs. Promising approaches are emerging that can be implemented on an individual, community, or population basis to reduce disparities in outcomes. Interventions targeting patients with low SES have predominantly focused on modification of traditional CVD risk factors. In addition, disparities based on sex have been shown in several studies. Four measures have been consistently associated with CVD in high-income countries: income level, educational attainment, employment status, and neighborhood socioeconomic factors. Biological, behavioral, and psychosocial risk factors prevalent in disadvantaged individuals accentuate the link between SES and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Socioeconomic status (SES) has a measurable and significant effect on cardiovascular health. Customer Service and Ordering Information.Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology.Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).Circ: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes.Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB).Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 371-399. Socioeconomic status and child development. This assumption may undermine their willingness to help low-SES individuals improve their social standing, further perpetuating a cycle of social inequality. People may assume that low SES reflects personal failings, without considering possible societal constraints. Low SES often co-occurs with minority, recent immigrant, and disability status single-parent households and exposure to violence, making low-SES individuals frequent targets of prejudice. Moreover, individuals with limited financial resources likely have more difficulty finding and receiving appropriate, affordable, and effective mental health treatment, further limiting their functioning. Children and adolescents growing up in low-SES households exhibit more aggressive and delinquent behavior, and both low SES children and adults have a higher likelihood of suffering from psychological disorders, such as depression.

Low SES also has been linked with maladaptive social functioning. Some experts think the causation goes in the opposite direction, that low IQ (which they regard as genetically determined) causes people to end up with low SES. Ultimately, a low-SES child’s poor performance may confirm the teacher’s original negative expectation, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. Teachers also may unknowingly contribute to the lower academic performance of these children, by subtly conveying their low expectations in a way that actually undermines performance.

Low-SES parents likely have limited access to high-quality books, libraries, and schools for their children, and they may provide fewer enriching educational opportunities for their children to develop their intellectual skills. Low SES also is associated with lower academic performance and IQ scores for children. These conditions also affect the health of adults, with women living in poverty being more likely than their higher SES counterparts to suffer from disease, chronic health conditions, and disabilities. For example, low SES is associated with health problems, such as premature birth, low birth weight, respiratory illnesses, and iron deficiencies in children.Ĭhildren in low-SES households are more likely to be exposed to tobacco, less likely to have adequate nutrition, less likely to be immunized, and less likely to receive high-quality health care than their higher SES peers. Low socioeconomic status has been associated with a variety of negative developmental and social outcomes, especially for children. These individuals have greater access to resources that can contribute to their success and to the perpetuation of similar benefits for their families. Individuals with high SES ratings are likely to work in prestigious positions, such as in medicine or law have higher salaries and have more advanced education. These individuals have limited access to the kinds of financial, educational, and social resources that could promote their own health and well-being and that of their families. Individuals with low SES ratings tend to have low-status occupations, such as service industry jobs income at or below the poverty level and low levels of formal education. Socioeconomic status (SES) is an indicator of an individual’s social and economic standing in society and often is determined by a combination of ratings on occupational status, income level, and education.
