Critical Analysis #7 - Isabelle Wong

 Socioeconomic Status (SES) is defined in our classroom as “a way of describing people based on their education, income, and type of job” (slide 5 of HDFS 280 L14). I could not find a definition of SES in the Golash-Boza textbook. If I had to define SES, I would define it as a social class or social classification of individuals based on their income level and financial stability. I believe that SES is the most dividing factor among Americans in the US today because of how much economic stability affects an individual’s development and quality of life. 

Socioeconomic statuses influence romantic relationship stability and satisfaction, parent-child relationships, and child development because SES directly affects a person’s quality of life and influences how they are able to grow and maintain relationships with those in their life.

For romantic relationship stability, someone who is upper class may not want to date someone who is not in the same SES. That person may also be irritated if their partner is always at work or working a second job to cover expenses. Someone who doesn’t understand why another person might need a second job to pay the bills may grow annoyed or weary of their partner spending lots of time away from them because of work, which could cause problems. 

For parent-child relationships, time constraints due to work or feelings of disappointment may be present within the relationship. For example, parents who need to work multiple jobs or night shifts may not get to spend as much time with their children, who may feel upset that they don’t see their parents much. The parents may also feel guilty, which could strain their relationship. Also, children may not understand why their parents cannot afford certain items like new toys or name-brand clothing/items, which could cause animosity in the household or jealousy from the children.

In terms of child development, SES influences the access to resources and care that children get, depending on what family they’re born into. A child in a low-income family may not have the opportunity to a high-quality daycare center, the best quality food, or educational opportunities as a child who is born into an upper-class family that can afford private nannies, organic food, and tutors for education. 

Common but inaccurate beliefs that people have in regard to why people of color have less wealth than white families are these that I have heard before: Latinos/Blacks work less hard than white families do or Asian families are cheap so they save all their money, unlike people of other races, are two beliefs that I have heard before. I know several people at Purdue who think that Latinos/Blacks are lazy and that’s why they do not make more money. However, as we learned in the lecture, individuals with “white names” and not “black names” were more likely to get callbacks for jobs, even with the same resume (slide 24 of HDFS 280 L14). So, there are barriers preventing black individuals from receiving the same opportunities as white individuals, especially in the workforce. Another idea that I have heard is that Asian families are cheap and save money, unlike Latino/Black families. However, we should think about how those who are lower-income are less likely or less able to put away more money in savings than those in higher-income groups. Also, not all Asian families are cheap, and not all have the ability to save money either. As we read in the textbook, there is a large wage and wealth gap between Nepalese Asian Americans and Chinese Asian Americans. So, it is a very large umbrella generalization/stereotype that simply is not true. 

Income inequalities differentially affect individuals and families because there are still biases present in today’s world. For example, white individuals may make more money than black individuals on average, but a white man would statistically on average be more like to make more than a white woman. 

Other forms of inequality that emerge are going to be educational inequalities, housing inequalities, differences in access to clean water and healthy food, extracurricular opportunities in things like the arts, sports, or music, and potential workplace opportunities. I know a lot of my friends who are from upper-middle-class families got internships because they had a parent who worked for a company and had colleagues or friends at the company that were able to offer a job because of their friendships. Those who work in lower-income jobs may be less likely to work in prestigious jobs and thus have fewer connections than those who work in a more affluent company. Another example would be sports or music. My musical instrument in 5th grade was $50 a month to rent, which was not a huge financial woe for my family, but it definitely was for some of my classmates, who ended up not playing instruments anymore because of how high the rental fees were. 

Growing up in a lower socioeconomic status family presents both strengths and weaknesses for children and teenagers because although hardship shapes a person’s character, the weaknesses can be a disadvantage for children as they grow and develop. 

Some strengths include:

• Resilience in the face of adversity 

• More likely to be hard-working and have a strong work ethic 

• Maturity 

• More grateful for family and for opportunities 

Some weaknesses include:

• Children can be forced to “grow up” too early because they may have to worry about things that other kids do not (ex: housing, food, new clothes, etc.) 

• Too much stress and anxiety in their lives 

• Fewer language skills/development if children did not get as much parental involvement