308) The Divergent Effects of Subjective Social Status on Depressive Symptoms in a Sample of Black and White Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain

While conventional socioeconomic status measures such as education, income, and occupation are often important predictors of health, subjective social status is also a critical determinant of physical and mental health among adults. Subjective social status takes into account perceived standing on multiple dimensions of socioeconomic status and social position. What remains unclear is whether subjective social status is similarly associated with health for individuals from different racial backgrounds. The aim of this ongoing study was to examine the association between subjective social status and depressive symptoms, and whether the nature of this association differed between Black and White adults with chronic low back pain (cLBP). Participants included 44 adults with cLBP (24 Black and 20 White) recruited from an academic pain treatment center in Birmingham Alabama. Subjective social status was measured using a symbolic ladder with 10 rungs that asked participants to place themselves in comparison with others in the U.S., with consideration for what it means to be at the top and bottom of society (e.g., the top have the most money and education and the best jobs). Participants also provided sociodemographic data (e.g., ethnicity/race) and completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale. Results revealed that the association between subjective social status and depressive symptoms was significantly moderated by racial background (t = -5.56, p