SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS SCALE

PRESENTED BY
JAYAMMA DBM
1ST YEAR MSc (N)
SDMINC
INTRODUCT
• Socioeconomic status (SES) is a measure of an individual's or family’s
economic and social position in relation to others, based on various variables
responsible for that like income, education, occupation, family effluence,
physical assets, social position, social participation, caste, muscle power,
political influence, etc. Majority of researchers agree that income, education and
occupation together best represent SES, while some others feel that changes in
family structure, family effluence etc should also be considered. Wealth is also
considered a determinant of SES, which, is a set of economic reserves or assets,
presents a source of security providing a measure of a household's ability to meet
emergencies, absorb economic shocks, or provide the means to live comfortably.
Wealth reflects intergenerational transitions as well as accumulation of income
and savings.
• In Indian till 1960 occupation-based classification advocated by the British
Registrar General was used. Original scale classified head of household into 5
social classes: Professional, Managerial and technical, Skilled (i.e., nonmanual,
manual), partly skilled and Unskilled. Later on there are various scales mainly
B.G Prasad classification 1961, Udai Parikh scale 1964, Kul Shrestha scale 1972,
Kuppuswamy scale 1976, Shrivastava scale 1978, Bharadwaj scale 2001, S.C Tiwari
2005, O.P Agarrawal 2005, Gaur scale 2013, and Sataya priya 2015 etc. As there
are many scales currently we should now the utility, advantages and limitations.
Thus the aim of this review is to explain in detail about the assessment of the
scales their advantages and limitation
 Characteristics' of socioeconomic scale
• The characteristics commonly employed for social classification ,occupation and income.the social status
associated with higher and lower caste is gradually diminishing.
• EDUCATION : Any person ,who is able to read and write with understanding in any language is
considered as literate .it is well known that higher the literacy level ,poorer the morbidity and mortality
and vice versa in general. Example lower the education status of the mother higher the maternal
mortality and infant mortality in India
• OCCUPATION: Register General Of England has grouped into 5 grouped .
 Class 1 –Professional
 Class 2-managerial
 Class 3-clerical And Skilled
 Class 4-semiskilled
 Class 5 –Unskilled.
• INCOME: This is the most important determinant of health and disease because it determinates the living
condition, cleanliness , education, life style ,etc.
 Socioeconomic status

 The three variables namely ,education ,occupation, income together determines the socioeconomic status
of the individual / family.

Classification of socioeconomic status

 B G Prasad classification which was proposed in the year 1961 is a scale based on per capita monthly income
(modified in 1968 and 1970), and has been used extensively for both rural and urban Indian population.
• On October 22, 2020, the Ministry of Labor and Employment, India released the new
series of Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI‑IW) with the base year 2016.
The new CPI‑IW with base 2016 (=100) will replace the existing series with base 2001
(=100). Such revisions were also made from the years 1944 to 1949, 1949 to 1960, 1960
to1982, and 1982 to 2001. CPI‑IW is compiled as per international best practices, and the
base year of price index numbers should be revised at frequent intervals, generally not
exceeding 10 years, to the changes that take place in the consumption pattern of
consumers.[
Kuppuswamy’s Socioeconomic Scale

• Socioeconomic status of the individual and family has direct implication on health
status, therefore its assessment is an important aspect in health research.
• From 1976, Kuppuswamy’sscale is an important tool to assess socio economic
status of families residing in urban areas in India.
• The three aspects of Kuppuswamy’s scale are education, occupation of the head
of the family, and total monthly family income. This scale needs to be revised at
regular intervals in order to account for economic shuffle and changing inflation
rate in the country and to revalidate its application in health research. This
current update has been done using Consumer price index (industrial workers) as
given by Labor Bureau, Government of India with base year2001.
• Socioeconomic status of the individual and family affects health status, therefore its assessment is
an important aspect in health research. A number of socioeconomic status scales have been
developed in India.
• Kuppuswamy’s scale was first introduced in the year1976. Since then, Kuppuswamy’s scale is an
important tool to assess socio economic status of families residing in urban areas in India. The
three aspects of
• Kuppuswamy’s scale are education, occupation of the head of the family, and total monthly family
income .
UDAI PAREEK SCALE (1964)

• UDAI PAREEK SCALE (1964) For the rural areas, Pareek’s classification became
popular based on nine characteristics namely caste, occupation of family head,
education of family head, level of social participation of family head, landholding,
housing, farm power, material possessions and type of family. The information
needed for checking on the scale
S.C TIWARI SCALE (2005)

• S.C TIWARI ET AL SCALE (2005) The scale consisted of seven profiles. The family could be placed
in any of the five mutually exclusive sub-categories of each profile. Each profile contained five
alternatives To keep this scale valid for a long period, the alternatives given in the series profiles
of the scale should be redefined from time to time preferably after every five years.
• First profile: House profile - two sub parts Land area - includes constructed + unconstructed area and House
type - covers different type walls, floorings and a roof of a house.
• Second profile: Material possession profile - two sub parts Household gadgets – will be defined according to
the quantity and total cost of the gadgets and Conveyance facility – common household possession and
conveyance facility will be included according to their average cost.
• Third profile: Educational status - achieved by those members of the family who have crossed the school
going age. Weighted scores for achieved educational status were given, e.g., ‘0’ for illiterate and ‘10’ for
higher studies (Ph.D., M.D., M.S., etc.).
• Fourth profile: Occupational profile - occupation of the family members. Weighted scores for achieved
occupational status were given, ‘0’ for no gainful employment and ‘10’ for class -I or equivalent jobs (senior
professionals, graduate, post graduate teachers, high profile farmers and businessmen, political leaders,
etc.).
• Fifth profile: Per capita income of the family - total family income from all sources divided by total number
of family members. Per capita income of Rs. 500/- and below got a score of 2, and more than Rs. 15,000/-
in urban and more than Rs. 10,000/- in rural got a score of 10.
• Sixth profile: Possessed land/House cost profile - defined according to the cost of land owned or cultivated
by the family. ‘No land/house’ will get a score of ‘0’ while the total cost being more than Rs. 50,00,000/-
will get a maximum score of 10.
• Seventh profile: The social profile - two sub parts Understanding - defined according to the knowledge of
social issues and Participation - defined according to their involvement in social activities. The social
issues and the activities were classified into five types viz. religious-cultural, developmental,
educational, health promotional, and political. No participations or understanding will be scored ‘0’
and participation/understanding will get a score of ‘2’.
 Scoring in the scale:
• All the seven profiles were equally weighted, each having a maximum score of 10. Upto sixth profile,
every alternative had only one weightage score that ranged from 2 to 10. The seventh profile was
additive in nature. Since the first two profiles (house and material possessions profiles) had two sub
parts each, the weighted score given against the alternatives in these two sub parts should be added
first and then divided by 2 to arrive at the final score. For deciding the final score on educational
profile, summation of weighted score achieved by individuals was divided by total number of family
members who were getting education or had completed education. Similarly, summation of
weighted scores achieved by family members on occupational profile should be divided by the same
number of individuals to arrive at the final score on the occupational profile. Scoring on the
economic and possessed land cost profile directly gives the final score. Scoring on the social profile
was additive in nature. The score obtained on every reported alternative in each sub-profile was first
added up. The added scores of both these two sub-profiles were again added and divided
Parker R. Measuring health literacy:
 Below Poverty Line

• Below Poverty Line is a benchmark used by the government of India to indicate economic
disadvantage and to identify individuals and households in need of government assistance
and aid. It is determined using various parameters which vary from state to state and
within states