There are many different factors that come into play when determining someone's

socioeconomic future. Some of these include, environment, family income, parental education,
and occupational status (Bradley, 2002). Going to school is hard enough due to all the work
received but having to deal with drama and gossip makes it ten times worse. Kids shouldnt have
to worry about getting talked about because of the clothes they have on or the house they live in;
sadly in this age they do. For example, kids that grow up in poorer neighborhoods end up going
to lower quality schools (Lee, p.76). The kids that come from higher level families will more
than likely go to higher educational institutions. This is unfortunate because studies show that
Pre-K has a huge impact on kids future earning potential. Kids who are in Kindergarten and do
poorly on standardized tests tend to be African American and Hispanic and from low-SES
families. The children that seemed to do better were Caucasian and Asian and came from higherSES families (Baker, 2002). Important factors that are linked to SES are material and social
resources (Bradley, 2002). These makes sense because the more material items one has, they
seem to be better off than others. In the observations in Assignment One Blair is constantly
criticizing others based on their clothing and wealth. This shows how realistic the popular girls
are in school (Swakla, 2016). A group of 4th grade popular girls that came from a high SES
were the ones that gossiped more about others from a low SES (McDonald, 2007). Having to
worry about your SES as an adolescent is a lot to take on and can cause one to have low selfesteem and can lead up to having health problems.
As far as health issues go, it seems that individuals with a lower level of education have a
higher risk of health issues. We can infer that an individual with a lower level of education
probably has a lower SES. This correlates that having a lower SES has a higher chance of health
problems. Studies have shown that families living under the poverty line with kids have higher

obesity rates, have a higher chance of having ADHD, have shorter life expectancies, are at a
higher chance of having depression, etc (CDC, 2011). Individuals with low SES have a lesser life
expectancy than those with higher SES. According to Williams (2010) an individual's race and
SES plays a valuable role in their life expectancy and health. In 2006 there were 33% of African
American children that were in poverty and 13.6% of white children in poverty (Williams, 2010).
The lack of education and income could play a huge factor in this. Since most families living in
poverty have less than a Bachelors degree they dont make a lot of money, so when they get sick
or someone in their immediate family gets sick they dont have enough money to cover the
medications and doctor visits. This could be why so many people living in poverty have a higher
risk of getting diseases. In 2010, 8% of children under 18 and 22% of adults didnt have any
health insurance coverage at all (CDC, 2011). In Europe there have been many more health
problems due to the obscene migration the past decade. Some mental health risk concerns are a
higher rate of schizophrenia, suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, access of psychiatric facilities, and
risk of anxiety and depression (Carta, 2005).
Nowadays its getting harder and harder for citizens of lower socioeconomic levels to
reach higher socioeconomic levels. Guy Raz (2011) states that it is now easier surpass economic
standards in Europe and Canada than it is in the U.S. This all goes back to the children of today.
Studies show that in America kids who come from a lower income making family will most
likely stay in that lower income level as adults. However, in Europe the data is surprisingly
different; children dont necessarily follow in their parents footsteps and as such, have a better
chance of climbing the socioeconomic ladder. Other examples of higher socioeconomic success
rates in Europe include provisions for pre-K programs. France, for example, has identified
patterns in which there are higher monthly incomes associated with remaining in pre-K programs

2 years or longer; in contrast, remaining in pre-K for 1 year/less/not at all, is associated with a
reduced monthly income (Currier, 2011).

Sources for lit review

Baker, A. A. (2009, November 18). Book Notes. Retrieved February 11, 2016, from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327930pje7903_9

Bradley, R. H. (2002, February). Socioeconomic Status and Child Development. Retrieved

February 8, 2016, from
http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135233
Carta, M. (2005, August 31). Migration and mental health in Europe (the state of the mental
health in Europe working group: Appendix 1). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from
http://cpementalhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1745-0179-1-13
McDonald, K. L. & Putallaz, M. & Grimes, C. L. & Kupersmidt, J. B. & Coie, J. D.(2007). Girl
Talk: Gossip, Friendship, and Sociometric Status. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 53(3), 381-411.
Wayne State University Press. Retrieved March 14, 2016, from Project MUSE database.
National Center for Health Statistics (US). Health, United States, 2011: With Special Feature on
Socioeconomic Status and Health. Hyattsville (MD): National Center for Health Statistics (US);
2012 May. Highlights. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK98770/
NORRIS, M. (2009, November 10). Parenting In The Age Of 'Gossip Girl' Retrieved March 3,
2016, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120287967
NORRIS, M. (2009, November 11). Letters: Parenting In The Age Of 'Gossip Girl' Retrieved
February 22, 2016, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120324829
Piznarski, M. (Producer). (2007, September 19). Gossip Girl [Television series episode]. In
Gossip Girl. New York City, New York: The CW.
Popoff, M. J. (2016, February 5). Gossip Girl Interview Questions [Personal interview].
Razz, G. (2011, December 10). Moving On Up More Difficult In America. Retrieved February
11, 2016, from http://www.npr.org/2011/12/10/143509344/moving-on-up-more-difficult-inamerica
Williams, D. R. (2010, February 16). Race, socioeconomic status, and health: Complexities,
ongoing challenges, and research opportunities. Retrieved February 12, 2016, from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05339.x/full