“We Might Get What We Need, but Not What We Want”: Children's and Adolescents' Perceptions of Subjective Socioeconomic Status in Türkiye

ABSTRACT This study examined how children and adolescents in Türkiye, a non‐Western context marked by economic instability and social stratification, construct their subjective socioeconomic status (SSS). Participants included 195 children ( N = 89, aged 8 to 11 years) and adolescents ( N = 106, aged 12 to 17 years) from lower ( N = 108) and higher ( N = 87) socioeconomic backgrounds. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, results show that SSS is a complex concept shaped by developmental, social, and contextual factors. Quantitative findings indicated that SSS ratings were moderately associated with parental education and income in adolescents but not in younger children. Moreover, adolescents and those from lower SES reported lower SSS ratings compared to their peers. Participants’ SSS ratings also correlated with their parents’ subjective status. Qualitative data revealed that participants relied on a range of cues, including purchasing power, social status symbols, values, and context‐specific indicators of perceived mobility and financial strategies. The information participants used was also influenced by their socioeconomic background, with lower SES participants more likely to interpret their SSS in terms of constraints, instability, and financial strategies. Overall, these findings highlight the developmental trajectories and socio‐cultural construction of SSS, offering insights into how children and adolescents navigate inequality and perceive their position within the broader social hierarchy in an underrepresented sample.