Derivation of three occupational status measures in young Black women: the study of environment, lifestyle, and fibroids

Socioeconomic Status (SES), a complex, multidimensional construct, is commonly assessed using education or combinations of education, income, and/or occupation. Though epidemiological studies tend to collect occupational data, focus on occupation-based SES measures has been limited. We describe a method to process and derive occupational status measures and then compare them for application in epidemiological research. Using US Census Bureau's Industry and Occupational Codes to standardize self-reported baseline occupational and industry data for 1,053 Black/African American participants in the Study of Environment, Lifestyle & Fibroids, we derived three established occupational status measures: Hauser Warren Socioeconomic Index (HWSEI), Nam-Powers-Boyd Occupational Status Score (NPBOSS90) and Nakao-Treas Prestige Score (PRENT). All three scores range from 0 to 100 where higher scores reflect higher status. Participants averaged in age of 29 years with 62% employed at baseline, most commonly in Customer Service. Median scores varied across HWSEI (30.3), NPBOSS90 (43.2) and PRENT (41.7). The occupational status derivation process contributes to epidemiological methods by providing guidance to those seeking to elucidate the SES-health relationship beyond merely income or education. If education and income are already being collected, PRENT, which does not incorporate these factors, may offer unique insights.