Economic inequality impacts development across the lifespan, influencing access to resources, suitable housing, and quality schooling. However, we lack an understanding of how differences in income shape interpersonal interactions, such as social class discrimination. Adolescence is a key developmental period to examine this construct, given identity formation and cognitive advances. We conducted semi-structured interviews with adolescents ( n = 33; 18 cisgender girls and 15 cisgender boys) and adults ( n = 8; five teachers and three parents; seven cisgender women and one trans-male). Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis, incorporating both structured and reflexive coding. Findings indicated three themes. First, Social Class Discrimination Occurs in a Variety of Ways captured experiences ranging from overt acts to subtle biases. Targets included the adolescent (direct) and via other individuals (indirect). Sources of discrimination were teachers, adolescents, adults in the community, and social media. Second, What Makes Social Class Discrimination Unique highlighted its novel qualities, such as appearance, materials, housing conditions, parental occupation, and wealth. Third, The Intersectionality of Social Class Discrimination indicated its overlap with race/ ethnicity, skin color, and gender. Addressing this topic is crucial for supporting adolescent well-being. Efforts to combat such discrimination should consider its multidimensionality, uniqueness, and intersectionality.
Mello et al. (Mon,) studied this question.