Competing with your friends is making you ill

Recent research shows that it isn’t your barren bank account giving you the student blues – it’s your social ranking.

The study conducted by Stirling Uni was aiming to explain a link between low income and poor health when it inadvertently found that low social position was in fact what affected health, and that low income was just a condition of a low social ranking.

Lead researcher Michael Daly, of Stirling University, said:  “Our research first showed that the less people earn or own, the worse their health. This was indicated by greater reports of illness and a worse profile of common biological markers like blood pressure, cholesterol and waist circumference.

“However, all the health measures we examined were more closely related to the ranked position of the person’s income or wealth compared to people of the same age, education or geographic area, rather than their income or wealth alone.”

This could help explain the position most students find themselves in, having no money yet wanting to live as if there’s no tomorrow and then getting depressed when you have to eat Tesco value beans on Tesco value toast.

The study, A Social Rank Explanation of How Money Influences Health, will be published in the Journal Health Psychology.

Michael Gullion, a 20-year-old Law student, said: “I think that it definitely makes sense, every social environment you’re in costs money and there’s definitely a feeling that you need to keep up with your friends which can be pretty stressful if money is tight.”

But not everyone agrees with the study’s findings. Keidra Birnie, a third year Law student at the University, said: “I can see how it might affect you mentally but I can’t see the link to poor physical health like if you’re stressed about money then that can take its toll on your mental health.”