Open AccessINDICATORS OF SOCIAL CLASS ‐ RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRESTIGE OF OCCUPATION AND SUBURB OF RESIDENCE
Author(s) -
Quine Susan,
Lancaster Paul A.L.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
community health studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 0314-9021
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1989.tb00710.x
Subject(s) - prestige , residence , social class , class (philosophy) , social status , occupational prestige , sociology , psychology , social psychology , demography , social science , political science , socioeconomic status , population , computer science , law , philosophy , linguistics , artificial intelligence
The difficulty of measuring social class is well known. Two indicators of social class, prestige of occupation and prestige of suburb of residence, are considered here. Australian prestige scales which measure these indicators are discussed. Comparisons between the original scales and the recently updated versions indicate that in the Australian community there is general community agreement on the prestige of occupations and of suburbs which has changed little over two decades. However, there is only a weak association between the prestige of the occupation in which a person is employed and the prestige of the suburb in which that person resides. This raises queries concerning the validity of using prestige of suburb as an indicator of social class, and highlights the fact that when conducting research one indicator of social class cannot simply be substituted for another. The implications for investigation of health‐related issues are discussed.