Social status and well-being study compares Japan, Germany, and the US

A comparative study involving 2,155 participants in Japan, Germany, and the United States has examined how social status indicators influence subjective well-being. The research found that personal relative deprivation (PRD) and subjective socioeconomic status (SSES) are strong independent predictors of well-being, whereas objective measures such as income and education showed negligible direct effects.

The study highlights that perceived social exclusion—the feeling of being unable to keep up with society—plays a significant role in these relationships. In Japan, SSES was the predominant predictor of well-being, while in the United States, PRD was the primary predictor. These differences are largely attributed to how culture-specific links connect social status to perceived social exclusion.