Definition
Social class, also deemed socioeconomic status, is a categorization of a group or individual within an established hierarchical social structure based on factors such as education, income, occupation, financial stability, and location. In statistical analyses, social class can be used as an independent variable when analyzing large populations and is often reduced to a select few variables (e.g., net income, gross income, parental education, property value, nature of labor) for statistical purposes. Social class often plays a significant role in the etiology of a disease, and lower socioeconomic status tends to correlate with higher rates of incidence and severity. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a more complex intersection with social class than most other diseases, likely attributed to its large variance of symptoms between different patients and the fact that mental illness is more difficult to track and study than physical.
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Lee, J.H. (2016). Social Class and Autism. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102156-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102156-1
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