Daily Interpersonal Experience Partially Explains the Association Between Social Rank and Physical Health

Background: Socioeconomic position is a well-established risk factor for poor physical health.

Purpose: This study examines whether the effects of lower social rank on physical health may be accounted for by differences in daily social experience.

Methods: In a large community sample (N = 475), we examined whether subjective social rank is associated with self-rated health, in part, through positive and negative perceptions of daily interpersonal interactions, assessed using ecological momentary assessment.

Results: Higher social rank was associated with higher average perceived positivity of social interactions in daily life (e.g., B = .18, p < .001), but not with perceived negativity of social interactions. Further, the association between social rank and self-rated physical health was partially accounted for by differences in perceived positivity of social interactions. This effect was independent of well-characterized objective markers of SES and personality traits.

Conclusions: Differences in the quality of day-to-day social interactions is a viable pathway linking lower social rank to poorer physical health.