Social hierarchies in youth: school-based peer hierarchies are more important than family socioeconomic status for stress (cortisol)
Background
Psychosocial explanations for socioeconomic status (SES) differences in health draw on non-human primate research to demonstrate how position in the social hierarchy is related to stress, as measured by cortisol. In stable social systems, stress is elevated in subordinate positions; in less stable systems, higher positions may also be stressful. In addition to their SES position, young people are involved in multiple school-based social hierarchies, each of which may have different implications for stress.
Objective
To examine the relationship …
