Citation
Cundiff, Jenny M.; Boylan, Jennifer Morozink; & Muscatell, Keely A. (2020). The Pathway from Social Status to Physical Health: Taking a Closer Look at Stress as a Mediator. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(2), 147-153.Abstract
Stress is often invoked as a potential contributor to disparities in physical health as a function of social status. Although there is good reason to believe that stress exposure and stress responses may be an important pathway linking lower social status to poor health, direct evidence is lacking. We summarize the evidence for this pathway and limitations of that evidence, focusing particularly on how stress is conceptualized and measured. We argue that in addition to more direct tests of mediation, the measurement of the mediator-stress-could also be improved. We also propose that measuring theory-specific stress exposures may be more fruitful than assessing general stress exposures (e.g., life events, global perceived stress) by increasing theoretical clarity and predictive utility of stress in this context.URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420901596Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2020Journal Title
Current Directions in Psychological ScienceAuthor(s)
Cundiff, Jenny M.Boylan, Jennifer Morozink
Muscatell, Keely A.