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A constellation of misfortune: narrative accounts of adverse life events, chronic illness, and subjective social status

A constellation of misfortune: narrative accounts of adverse life events, chronic illness, and subjective social status
A constellation of misfortune: narrative accounts of adverse life events, chronic illness, and subjective social status
Quantitative studies have drawn attention to the patterning of health inequalities in relation to subjective social status (SSS). There is currently little insight into the complexities of the social and biographical aspects that lie behind these findings. Narrative accounts were gathered in a mixed-methods study involving a population of people with coronary heart disease (CHD) and/or diabetes in a region of the United Kingdom with above average levels of socio-economic deprivation. The aim of this secondary qualitative analysis was to examine the accounts of interviewees with low socio-economic status (SES) who ranked themselves either low or high in terms of SSS. The results highlight the multiplicity of adverse circumstances leading to subjective assessments of low SSS. Loss of employment status contributed more to a feeling of being “at the bottom of the ladder” than the symptoms of chronic illness did, perhaps because having somewhere to go is central to the accrual of social, economic, and cultural capital. The narratives of those who ranked themselves highly (in spite of low SES) appeared to have more family and community connections. The findings contribute to theories of socio-economic biographies or trajectories, subjective social status, and engagement with the self-management aspects of chronic illness.
2158-2440
1-10
Daker-White, Gavin
9b0569ff-aba1-41d1-a1ca-3852ef7677a6
Sanders, Caroline
1121a9ec-e719-489a-9ffd-ae8cb6e49a78
Rogers, Anne
105eeebc-1899-4850-950e-385a51738eb7
Vassliev, Ivaylo
1c947dae-29dc-4131-bdfd-77cc33eca2f9
Blickem, Christian
cc3228ac-f56e-4dca-9aae-cbb6bfac4fb3
Cheraghi-Sohi, Sudeh
bd462e0d-2cc4-4428-810d-ace86af4689b
Daker-White, Gavin
9b0569ff-aba1-41d1-a1ca-3852ef7677a6
Sanders, Caroline
1121a9ec-e719-489a-9ffd-ae8cb6e49a78
Rogers, Anne
105eeebc-1899-4850-950e-385a51738eb7
Vassliev, Ivaylo
1c947dae-29dc-4131-bdfd-77cc33eca2f9
Blickem, Christian
cc3228ac-f56e-4dca-9aae-cbb6bfac4fb3
Cheraghi-Sohi, Sudeh
bd462e0d-2cc4-4428-810d-ace86af4689b

Daker-White, Gavin, Sanders, Caroline, Rogers, Anne, Vassliev, Ivaylo, Blickem, Christian and Cheraghi-Sohi, Sudeh (2014) A constellation of misfortune: narrative accounts of adverse life events, chronic illness, and subjective social status. SAGE Open, 1-10. (doi:10.1177/2158244014558041).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Quantitative studies have drawn attention to the patterning of health inequalities in relation to subjective social status (SSS). There is currently little insight into the complexities of the social and biographical aspects that lie behind these findings. Narrative accounts were gathered in a mixed-methods study involving a population of people with coronary heart disease (CHD) and/or diabetes in a region of the United Kingdom with above average levels of socio-economic deprivation. The aim of this secondary qualitative analysis was to examine the accounts of interviewees with low socio-economic status (SES) who ranked themselves either low or high in terms of SSS. The results highlight the multiplicity of adverse circumstances leading to subjective assessments of low SSS. Loss of employment status contributed more to a feeling of being “at the bottom of the ladder” than the symptoms of chronic illness did, perhaps because having somewhere to go is central to the accrual of social, economic, and cultural capital. The narratives of those who ranked themselves highly (in spite of low SES) appeared to have more family and community connections. The findings contribute to theories of socio-economic biographies or trajectories, subjective social status, and engagement with the self-management aspects of chronic illness.

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Published date: 10 November 2014
Organisations: Faculty of Health Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 372894
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/372894
ISSN: 2158-2440
PURE UUID: 7126abfd-084f-4fa0-b186-2e838cc2ef31

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Date deposited: 24 Dec 2014 14:58
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 18:44

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Contributors

Author: Gavin Daker-White
Author: Caroline Sanders
Author: Anne Rogers
Author: Ivaylo Vassliev
Author: Christian Blickem
Author: Sudeh Cheraghi-Sohi

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