The Burden of Comparison: Relative Socioeconomic Position and Adolescent Socioemotional Development

Giulia Gambardella, Ilham Ben Lenda, Lucia Mangiavacchi () and Luca Piccoli
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Giulia Gambardella: University of Perugia
Ilham Ben Lenda: University of Trento
Lucia Mangiavacchi: University of Perugia

No 18060, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines how an adolescent's relative socioeconomic status (SES) within their school influences their socioemotional development and well-being. Although peer effects on academic outcomes are well-documented, less is known about how an individual's socioeconomic rank among peers shapes non-cognitive skills. Using PISA 2022 data and a school fixed effects model, we investigate the relationship between two measures of relative SES—Socioeconomic Rank and Socioeconomic Gap—and a range of outcomes, including socioemotional skills, self-esteem, and attitudes toward school. Our results show that higher within-school SES rank is significantly associated with better socioemotional skills, greater well-being, and stronger academic motivation. We also find important heterogeneity by gender and migrant background. These findings highlight that an individual's relative socioeconomic position, beyond absolute resources, plays a critical role in shaping adolescent non-cognitive development.

Keywords: relative position; socio-economic status; socio-emotional skills; adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 I24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-inv and nep-neu
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