Relative Deprivation and Adolescent Outcomes in Iceland: A Multilevel Test
The theory of relative deprivation emphasizes that social comparisons contextualize how people experience impoverishment. An important application of this theory argues that relative deprivation that stems from unfavorable social comparisons can result in anger, normlessness and an increased likelih...
| Published in: | Social Forces |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2009
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://sf.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/87/3/1223 https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0177 |
| Summary: | The theory of relative deprivation emphasizes that social comparisons contextualize how people experience impoverishment. An important application of this theory argues that relative deprivation that stems from unfavorable social comparisons can result in anger, normlessness and an increased likelihood of deviant behavior. We test this theory in a new societal setting — Iceland. Specifically, we test the proposition that the effects of economic deprivation on individual outcomes are contingent on the standard of living enjoyed by the person's reference groups. Using multilevel data on 5,491 Icelandic adolescents in 83 school-communities, we find consistent support for the theory. We show that the effects of economic deprivation on adolescent anger, normlessness, delinquency, violence and subjective relative family status are weak in school-communities where economic deprivation is common, while the effects are significantly stronger in school-communities where economic deprivation is rare. |
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