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Indian Pediatr 2009;46: 1104-1105 |
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Modification of Kuppuswamy’s Socioeconomic
Status Scale in context to Nepal |
Arijit Ghosh and Tusharkanti Ghosh,
Department of Physiology, University College of Science
and Technology, Calcutta University,
92, A. P. C. Road, Kolkata 700 009, India.
Email: [email protected]
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Assessment of socioeconomic status (SES) is an important aspect in
community based studies. Evaluation of SES of a family would mean the
categorization of the family in respect of defined variables such as,
education, occupation, economic status, physical assets, social position
etc. Some of these variables can be evaluated simultaneously. Several
methods or scales have been proposed for classifying different populations
by socioeconomic status: Rahudkar scale 1960, Udai Parikh scale 1964,
Jalota Scale 1970, Kulshrestha scale 1972, Kuppuswamy scale 1976,
Shrivastava scale 1978, Bharadwaj scale 2001(1-7). However, social
transformation and fast growing economy have rendered these scales
ineffective in measuring the SES over the years. Further, steady inflation
and consequent fall in the value of currency make the economic criteria in
the scale less relevant. The most widely accepted scale for urban
populations has been proposed by Kuppuswamy in India in 1976 (Table
I). A method has recently been suggested for updating the Kuppuswamy
scale(8). Presently, there is no standardized questionnaire to assess the
SES of Nepalese people. We herein propose a modification to the
Kuppuswamy’s scale for use in Nepal, which takes into account the current
national price indices of Nepal.
TABLE I
Socioeconomic Status Scale of Kupuswamy (Urban, 1976)
|
Score |
Education |
|
Professional or Honours |
7 |
Graduate or Post-Graduate |
6 |
Intermediate or Post-High-School Diploma |
5 |
High School Certificate |
4 |
Middle School Certificate |
3 |
Primary School or Literate |
2 |
Illiterate |
1 |
Occupation |
Score |
Profession |
10 |
Semi-Profession |
6 |
Clerical, Shop-owner, Farmer |
5 |
Skilled worker |
4 |
Semi-skilled worker |
3 |
Unskilled worker |
2 |
Unemployed |
1 |
Family Income Per Month (in Rs)* |
Score |
≥2000 |
12 |
1000 – 1999 |
10 |
750 – 999 |
6 |
500 – 749 |
4 |
300 – 499 |
3 |
101 – 299 |
2 |
≤100 |
1 |
Total Score |
Socioeconomic Class |
26 – 29 |
Upper (I) |
|
16 – 25 |
Middle |
Upper Middle (II) |
11 – 15 |
|
Lower Middle (III) |
5 – 10 |
Lower |
Upper Lower (IV) |
< 5 |
|
Lower (V) |
Reproduced from reference 5; *Indian rupees.
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In the modified scale, the educational and occupational
criteria remain the same because of similar educational and occupational
milieu in India and Nepal. To modify the economic criteria, initially the
family income per month of each group, which is stated in Indian Rupees (INR)
in the original scale, is converted to Nepalese Rupees (NPR) by
multiplying with 1.6 (INR 100 is equivalent to NPR 160). In addition, the
National Urban Consumer Price Index (NUCPI) for Nepal is noted for the
current year (from the website of Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal)(9). The
conversion factor between the NUCPI for 1976 (the year when Kuppuswamy’s
scale was proposed) and the current year is then determined, as follows:
NUCPI for 1976 = 15.6 (Base Year: 1995 / 96 = 100)
NUCPI for 2009 = 223.1 (Base Year: 1995 / 96 = 100)
To determine the conversion factor between the index of
1976 and 2009: 223.1 ÷ 15.6 = 14.3.
TABLE II
Modified Family Income Groups in Nepalese Rupees of the Kuppuswamy’s Socioeconomic Status Scale
(Modified for 2009)
Original* |
Modified# |
Score |
≥2000 |
≥45751 |
12 |
1000 – 1999 |
22851 – 45750 |
10 |
750 – 999 |
17151 – 22850 |
6 |
500 – 749 |
11451 – 17150 |
4 |
300 – 499 |
6851 – 11450 |
3 |
101 – 299 |
2301 – 6850 |
2 |
≤100 |
≤2300 |
1 |
* In Indian rupees: #rounded off to nearest 50 in NPR.
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Subsequently, all the income groups in the new scale
are multiplied with the conversion factor to get the appropriate income
groups (Table II). As this scale was initially proposed in
1976 in India, it’s updating in 2009 in context to Nepal has certain
limitations. However, this modified scale can be administered very quickly
in any setting for large community surveys as well as small scale studies,
and it has provision of updating the scale over the years to maintain its
high validity. This will make the scale relevant and useful and also allow
individual researchers to modify it according to the period of their
research.
Reference
1. Rahudkar WB. A scale for measuring socio-economic
status of Indian farm families. Nay Agril Coll Mag 1960; 34.
2. Parikh U, Trivedi G. Manual of socio-economic status
scale (Rural), Manasayan, Delhi, 1964.
3. Jalota S, Pandey RN, Kapoor SD, Singh RN.
Socio-economic status scale questionnaire (Urban), Psycho-Centre, New
Delhi, 1970.
4. Kulshrestha SP, Day P. Socio-economic status scale
(Urban) form-A, National Psychological Corporation, Agra, 1972.
5. Kuppuswamy B. Manual of Socioeconomic Status
(urban), Manasayan, Delhi, 1981.
6. Srivastava GP. Socio-economic status scale (Urban),
National Psychological Corporation, Agra, 1978.
7. Bhardwaj RL. Manual for socio-economic status scale.
National Psychological Corporation, Agra, 2001.
8. Mishra D, Singh HP. Kuppuswamy’s socioeconomic
status scale- A revision. Indian J Pediatr 2003; 70: 273-274.
9. Nepal Rastra Bank. Recent Macroeconomic Situation.
Research Department, Statistics Division, Kathmandu, Nepal. Available
from: URL:http://www.nrb.org.np/ofg/recent_macroeconomic/Recent_Macroeconomic_
Situation_(English)—2009-04_Tables_(Based%20on%20first%20seven%20
month%20data%20of%202008-09)-NEW.xls. Accessed on April 22, 2009.
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