Subjective Social Status and Mental Health Outcomes: The Role of Mindfulness

Abstract

Positive personal resources have been shown to buffer the relationship between low subjective social status and poor mental health outcomes. However, limited data exist in relation to the role of mindfulness. The current study investigated how mindfulness moderates the relationship between subjective social status with life satisfaction and subjective well-being. Three hundred and twenty-two adults completed measures assessing subjective social status, as measured by the society and community ladders, mindfulness, life satisfaction, and well-being. Using PROCESS, a macro for SPSS and SAS, mindfulness was found to significantly moderate the relationship between society ladder and life satisfaction (△R2 = .02, 95% confidence interval (CI) [−0.93, −0.15], p = .007) as well as the community ladder and life satisfaction (△R2 = .01, 95% CI [−.92, −0.11], p = .013). No significant moderating effect was found between the society ladder and subjective well-being (95% CI [−0.59, 1.73], p = .335) or the community ladder and subjective well-being (95% CI [−0.82, 1.54], p = .551). These findings underscore the value of investigating how positive personal resources, such as mindfulness, impact the subjective social status-well-being relationship. Additional research examining the subjective social status–health relationship through a strengths-based lens will be fruitful in identifying resources that promote positive outcomes in the face of economic marginalization.