Social structure impacts a person’s life by setting expectations associated with an individual’s roles, the social networks to which they belong, and the status connected with their positions. The status determines an individual’s access to resources, affecting their education and future occupation and earnings (DeLamater et al., 2015). Women’s occupational status and earning are limited by gender segregation. Occupational role characteristics are associated with particular values (DeLamater et al., 2015). Additionally, higher education is connected with placing greater value on self-direction (DeLamater et al., 2015). Mental health is linked to hardships in occupational attainment, marital status, and social networks, as well as gender and status. Physical health can be influenced by gender; for example, men are more vulnerable to such illnesses as coronary heart disease due to the traditional role expectations (DeLamater et al., 2015). Weak social network ties affect an individual’s sense of belonging (DeLamater et al., 2015). These elements of social structure influence different areas of an individual positively and negatively.
The location in social structure impacts every individual throughout their entire life. As for me, it affected my early life education and access to such resources like money and lifestyle. Furthermore, it influenced my choice of education and future occupation. Due to this choice, my mental health is negatively affected by occasional stress. My social networks are influenced by my lifestyle and have an impact on my sense of belonging and mental health. My physical health is associated with my gender and lifestyle. As such, my current life is affected by my status and choices made in accordance with this status. It will continue to impact my occupation, marital status, health, and sense of belonging in the future.
References
DeLamater, J.D., Myers, D.J., and Collett, J.L. (2015). Social psychology. Westview Press.