The Effect of Socio-economic Status and Related Stress on Physical Health

This review is designed to investigate how socioeconomic status, and the stress related to it, can impact physical health. Much of the research relating to this topic focuses on how low socioeconomic status effects health. However, it is very important to understand the different ways that all classes effect health outcomes. An important mediating factor in the relationship between socioeconomic status and health is chronic stress. The presence of chronic stress can produce serious negative health outcomes. High stress appears on all levels of the social hierarchy, but formulates for unique reasons within the different classes