Impacts of class on Hong Kong people's well-being

Whereas class theory and research have offered evidence showing the significant effect of class on the individual's well-being, some researchers think that class has no impact on people in modern society because of reduced inequality in education and profession. In such a modern society as Hong Kong, further arguments suggest that people have vague images of class. This controversy may arise because of the failure to operalionalize class. To amend this shortcoming, this study operationalized class by using Wright's (1985) definition. With data from 138 marital couples, it tested a causal model predicting the husband's and wife's well-being by class, through the mediation of problem-solving confidence, received social support, work alienation, pleasant and stressful life events, and income. Analysis via structural equation modeling indicated that well-being was significantly associated with a higher class position. That work alienation mediated the relationship between class and received social support, problem-solving confidence, and well-being supports the significance of class theory.