The Impact of Downward Classism on Social Class Concealment Among College Students Who Are Low-Income

Abstract

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• The Impact of Downward Classism on Social Class Concealment Among College Students Who Are Low-Income
• Mun Yuk Chin (bio), Jay Jeffries (bio), and Mindi N. Thompson (bio)

Given the privileging of white, middle-class norms in higher education, students who are low-income encounter classism in college (e.g., Cattaneo et al., 2019). Specifically, these students experience downward classism as posited by the social class worldview model (SCWM) in the form of discrimination or prejudice for deviating from the economic and sociocultural norms in their institutions (Liu et al., 2004). The model describes people's beliefs and experiences as shaped by their economic cultures and classism. College can thus be considered a type of economic culture for students. Downward classism has been shown to negatively impact low-income students' academic and social outcomes, including their social connectedness and perceived stigmatization (Allan et al., 2016; Nguyen & Herron, 2021).

Results from a growing body of correlational and qualitative research have illustrated the ways in which students who are poor or working class manage their social class identities in higher education. Strategies of class code-switching (e.g., altering language) and disassociation (e.g., hiding status) were commonly used by students to manage the stigma associated with their lower social class statuses as well as pressures toward upward mobility in college settings (Elkins & Hanke, 2018; Radmacher & Azmitia, 2013). Poor and working-class college students were more likely to hide or conceal their social class backgrounds when they interacted with those of higher status (Aries & Seider, 2005; Radmacher & Azmitia, 2013). These findings suggest that for low-income students, social class concealment may function as a response to maintain their social status when faced with downward classism per SCWM (Liu et al., 2004). However, concealment may exacerbate negative emotions and hinder students from gaining social support, which can reinforce their disconnection from others (Aries & Seider, 2005).

Despite the well-documented links between social class and other social identities (e.g., first-generation student status, race/ethnicity) that have critical implications for college students' experiences (Hinz, 2016; Radmacher & Azitia, 2013), limited research has examined how students' other identities are connected to experiences with classism. Further, existing results have yielded mixed findings. In one study at a public university, students' financial stress, but not their social class, significantly predicted their exposure to classism. This relationship did not differ between students of color and white [End Page 316] students (Cattaneo et al., 2019). In a different study, Allan et al. (2016) found that both students' social class and first-generation college student (FCGS) status significantly predicted more experiences with classism.

This study built upon previous research to examine the daily phenomenon of social class concealment among low-income college students attending a large public land grant university in the US and to explore how students' identities contribute to concealment. Using data from a mixed-methods daily diary study (Chin, 2020), we tested whether students concealed their social class more frequently among interaction partners (i.e., person or people with whom students interact) with higher status (H1) and whether more effort was used to conceal their status among partners with higher status (H2). Next, we explored differences in the overall concealment frequency reported among subgroups of low-income students based on their FGCS status, race/ethnicity, transfer student status, and their own perceived social status.

METHOD

The study was conducted between September 2018 and May 2019 in a large, selective, public land grant university in the US Midwest. At the time of the study, approximately 16% of enrolled undergraduate students were students of color, and 17% were FGCS. Approximately 50% received financial aid, and 14% received Pell grants. Approximately 10% of undergraduate students were transfer students. While the university offers scholarship programs (e.g., full-ride scholarships, tuition and fee waivers for financially eligible in-state students) and student support services (e.g., tutoring, comprehensive transition programs) that target students who are historically underrepresented, such as FGCS and low-income students, affordability and class differences among students remain prevalent. There are student- and staff-initiated social supports for working-class and poor students (e.g., class-based support groups).

Our sample consisted of 92 students who self-identified...