Description
Book SynopsisBeauty has a well-documented impact on labor market outcomes with both legal and policy implications. This monograph investigated whether this stratification is rooted in earlier developmental experiences. Specifically, we explored how high schools'' dual roles as contexts of social relations and academic progress contributed to the long-term socioeconomic advantages of being physically attractive. Integrating theories from multiple disciplines, the conceptual model of this study contends that physically attractive youths'' greater social integration and lesser social stigma help them accumulate psychosocial resources that support their academic achievement while also selecting them into social activities that distract from good grades. A mixed-methods design, combining statistical analyses of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health and qualitative analyses of a single high school, supported and expanded this model. The data revealed that the benefits of attractiveness
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT vii
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. CONCEPTUAL MODEL 9
III. DATA AND METHODS 27
IV. PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS, SOCIAL ACHIEVEMENT, AND HUMAN CAPITAL: TESTING THE BASIC MODEL WITH QUANTITATIVE DATA 44
V. EXAMINING AND ELABORATING THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL WITH QUALITATIVE DATA 79
VI. PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS, SOCIAL ACHIEVEMENT, AND HUMAN CAPITAL: TESTING THE ELABORATED MODEL WITH QUANTITATIVE DATA 88
VII. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 99
REFERENCES 111
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 121
CONTRIBUTORS 122
STATEMENT OF EDITORIAL POLICY 123
SUBJECT INDEX 125
