Grant: Operating Grant

Individuals lower in socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to get sick, to have more severe illnesses, and to die from diseases, compared to higher SES individuals. This project seeks to understand how daily life experiences contribute to these relationships. We will describe the types of daily life experiences low SES individuals face- for example, whether lower SES individuals experience more competing demands whereby responsibilities in one domain spillover and conflict with responsibilities in other domains. In turn, we will examine whether these daily life experiences are associated with biological markers of risk for cardiovascular disease. Second, we will investigate whether some individuals have characteristics that protect them from adverse social environments. For example, certain low SES individuals may believe that there are ways in which even difficult environments can be beneficial, and we will test whether these beliefs buffer individuals from poor biological outcomes. The knowledge gained from this study will increase our understanding of how social factors such as SES shape biology, with the potential for informing future interventions aimed at maximizing health across individuals in our society.