The Effects of Multiple Social Structures on Individual Attributes

How social structural components affect individual§attitudes and behaviors is an ongoing theme in§sociology. This analysis sought to explore the§independent and relative effects of the social§structural components of class, gender, and religion§on the individual personality attributes of§tolerance, trust, life satisfaction, and a sense of§having free choice and control over life outcomes. It§explored which structural element had the stronger§effect on the individual psychological attributes,§the similarities and differences in the effects, and§it tested the intersections of structural components§for interactive effects across six countries.§Universal effects were not found. However, much§variation in the effects of social structural§components across the selected countries was found.§This analysis indicates not only that there are§significant differences between the social locations§formed by the social structures, but that the effects§from the independent variables vary dependent upon§the social locations. This analysis encourages the§use of intersectional methods and may be of interest§to social psychologists and others working in the§fields of race, class, or gender.