ABSTRACT
Lower class life is marked by an over-representation of a broad range of frustration-producing life events and chronic conditions outside personal control. Individuals who are poor are confronted with an unremitting succession of negative life events in the context of chronically stressful, ongoing life conditions such as inadequate housing and dangerous neighborhoods. Adults who are poor also have more mental health problems than their economically advantaged counterparts. The inverse relation between socioeconomic status and various forms of psychological distress and mental disorder is due in part to the increased exposure of the poor to chronic and acute stressors. Vulnerability to stress following negative life events is reported to be higher among African Americans than whites. African Americans may be more distressed than whites at low levels of income because their caste-like inferiorized status thwarts mobility aspirations and results in greater exposure to chronic, ongoing stressors and higher levels of resource deprivation.
