Research Paper UCL Institute of Education Department of Quantitative Social Science Working Papers 17-01

Social mobility and the wellbeing of individuals

Authors

Publication date

Jan 2017

Summary

Several papers published in recent years have revived interest in Sorokin’s dissociative thesis: the view that intergenerational social mobility has detrimental effects on the social relationships and wellbeing of individuals. In this paper, I test the dissociative thesis using
data from the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society. On a wide range of indicators that measure participation in civic associations, contact with parents, close personal relationships, social support, subjective wellbeing, etc. individuals who have achieved long range upward mobility (i.e. those who move from working class origin to salariat destination) tend to fare better than those who are immobile in the working class. Those who have experienced long-range downward mobility (moving from salariat origin to working class destination) do about as well as second-generation members of the working class. Overall, there is no support for Sorokin’s thesis.

Subjects

Psychology, Social Exclusion, Social Inclusion, Well Being, Social Capital, Sociology, Social Stratification, and Social Mobility

Links

https://ideas.repec.org/p/qss/dqsswp/1701.html

Related publications

1. Social mobility and the well-being of individuals

   Tak Wing Chan

   Journal Article, British Journal of Sociology - Mar 2018
   1. Psychology
   2. Social Exclusion
   3. Social Inclusion
   4. Well Being
   5. Social Capital
   6. Sociology
   7. Social Stratification
   8. Social Mobility

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