Class & Social Status

Salient Identities

Who are you?

Social Class Exploration Activity

Take a moment to reflect on the following questions

Social Class Exploration Activity: Debriefing

You are NOT obligated to share your answers to all of the questions, however please reflect on:

• How you experienced the activity
• What you learned about yourself
• How your self-awareness can influence the way you maneuver the world and/or the profession

Adams et al. (2013)

Key Terms

Class- a relative social ranking based on income, wealth, education, status, and power

Classism- the institutional, cultural, and individual set of practices and beliefs that assign differential value to people according to their socioeconomic class

Economic Capital- wealth enhanced by income

Social Capital- social resources such as elite education, health care, political connections, legal and financial advisors, and 'concierge' health services

Intellectual & Cultural Capital- the knowledge, language and self-presentation needed to leverage major social institutions- such as education, the law, the political system, the health-care system.

Meritocracy: Pull yourself up by your boot straps

" It is not difficult to see how the belief in meritocracy- that it was hard work alone that enabled generations of European immigrants to become middle- and professional-class Americans- has become ingrained in the U.S. national identity. The belief in meritocracy celebrates as earned the success achieved by European colonists, settlers, and immigrants who had advantages based on economic, racial, linguistic, educational, and or/cultural assets relative to enslaved or marginalized communities of color without these advantages. This belief in meritocracy thus obscures the racial disadvantage (resulting in long-term intergenerational economic deprivations) for Native American nations confined on reservations, African American descendants of slaves and debt peonage, and Mexican American and Asian victims of wage inequality and unfair labor practices. " (p.144)

Adams et al. (2013)

Statistics

• The wealthiest 1% holds 34% of the total national wealth (durables such as houses, cars, and stereos).

• 13% of the Amercian population (1 in 8 people) live below official poverty line

• 1 out of every 5 children (4.4 mil) in the U.S. under age 6 live in poverty

• The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of Black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households.

Adams et al. (2013)

Myths vs. Reality

Which myth(s) stood out to you the most?

What other classist myths exist?

Classism & Racism

Difficulties for the 1% of the top 1%

Intersectionality & Class

https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/eurj/files/2013/10/lgbt.pdf

• Race
• Ethnicity
• Culture
• Sex
• Gender
• Sexual orientation ..........
• Mental or Physical (Dis)ability
• Educational attainment
• Citizenship status
• Age
• Religion/Spirituality
• Military service
• Criminal Record
• ....... https://www.thebalance.com/types-of-employment-discrimination-with-examples-2060914

Adams et al. (2013)

Dyadic discussion

Please discuss the mental health implications of Physical Labor (p. 193), Emotional Labor (p. 194), and Purchasing Difference (p. 195).

Homelessness

The invisible class

“an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family), including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.” A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation. [Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C., 254b)]

Homelessness

What are common stigma's about homeless people?

Homelessness

Who? Why? Where?

Classism & Taxes

Early Release Copies of the 2018 Percentage Method Tables for

Income Tax Withholding

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/n1036.pdf

IF we have extra time, we can watch and discuss these videos

Given our discussions, Adams et al. (2013), and Smith (2008), how will you address class/classism in your work as a mental health clinician?