Doctoral Dissertation Research: Downward Mobility in the Land of Success

这个项目通过一系列深入的访谈，为有关美国向下流动的文献做出贡献。尽管向上流动仍然比向下流动更普遍，但重要的经济变化使向下流动在最近几十年比20世纪50年代和60年代更加普遍。这使得在经济上比父母差的经历变得越来越普遍。然而，关于人们如何解释和解释向下流动的经历，人们知之甚少。为了解决这一差距，该项目建立在对美国阶级和不平等的研究基础上，提高了我们对成功的文化信息的理解，并解决了对美国人至关重要的问题。方法包括采访来自纽约-新泽西-康涅狄格州大都市区的100名受访者，他们属于1976年的高中班级。使用基于四类职业方案的初始调查工具，该项目确定了50名向下流动的受访者，以及25名向上流动的受访者和25名固定流动的受访者作为对照组。深度访谈评估了不同种族、阶层和性别的人如何看待他们的向下流动的经历。它们还反映了向下流动的社会心理影响的程度和性质。

This project contributes to the literature on downward mobility in the United States through a series of in-depth interviews. Although upward mobility remains more common than downward mobility, important economic changes have made downward mobility more prevalent in recent decades than during the 1950s and 1960s. This makes the experience of doing worse economically than one's parents increasingly common. However, little is known about how people explain and interpret the experience of downward mobility. In addressing this gap, the project builds on studies of class and inequality in the United States, improves our understanding of cultural messages about success, and addresses issues crucial to Americans.The methods involve interviews with 100 respondents from the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut metropolitan area who belonged to their high school's class of 1976. Using an initial survey instrument based on a four-category occupational scheme, the project identifies 50 downwardly mobile respondents, and 25 upwardly mobile and 25 immobile respondents who serve as control groups. The in-depth interviews gauge how individuals who differ by race, class, and gender view their experiences with downward mobility. They also reflect the extent and nature of the social psychological effects of downward mobility.