The Influence of Subjective Socioeconomic Status on Life Satisfaction: The Chain Mediating Role of Social Equity and Social Trust

Zirong Ren; Guoan Yue; Weilong Xiao; Qinghui Fan

doi:10.3390/ijerph192315652

The Influence of Subjective Socioeconomic Status on Life Satisfaction: The Chain Mediating Role of Social Equity and Social Trust

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Nov 25;19(23):15652. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192315652.

Authors

Zirong Ren^{1

2}, Guoan Yue^{1

2}, Weilong Xiao^{1

2}, Qinghui Fan³

Affiliations

¹ College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
² Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
³ Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.

Abstract

Life satisfaction is significantly influenced by social capital, a key sociological term that links people to their social surroundings. Through a survey of 17,217 Chinese residents, this study investigated the probable processes of how subjective socioeconomic status affects life satisfaction within the framework of social capital. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between subjective socioeconomic status and life satisfaction. Subjective socioeconomic status influences citizens' life satisfaction not only through the independent mediating effects of perceived social equity and social trust, but also through the chain mediation of perceived social equity and social trust. This research advances our knowledge of the mechanisms behind the association between subjective socioeconomic status and life satisfaction. In improving citizens' life satisfaction, we should not only provide sufficient subjective socioeconomic status to improve it, but also focus on the improvement of their social equity perceptions and social trust.

Keywords: life satisfaction; social equity; social trust; subjective socioeconomic status.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Personal Satisfaction
Social Capital*
Social Class*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Trust

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (grant number 18ZDA165) and by the Open Research Fund of College of Teacher Education, Zhejiang Normal University (no. jykf22042).