Description
PRENT is a constructed variable that assigns a Nakao-Treas prestige score to each occupation using the modified version of the 1990 occupational classification scheme available in the OCC1990 variable. The PRENT variable is based on prestige assessments assigned by Nakao and Treas, using data from the 1989 General Social Survey. Respondents were asked to evaluate "social standing" of occupations in this survey. More specifically, on a cardboard sheet showing a nine-rung ladder of social standing that ranged from "1" being the lowest social standing to "9" being the highest social standing, respondents were asked to sort cards with occupational titles. Nakao and Treas then converted these data into prestige score using the following formula:
where Pj is the prestige score of the jth occupation, i is the rank of social standing, and Xji is the proportion of ratings received by the jth occupation that fell on the ith rung of the ladder.
Therefore, the prestige score is a weighted average of the ratings received by each occupation, with weights of 0, 12.5, 25.0 ... 100, assigned to the respective rating categories. Prestige scores can range from 0 to 100.
For example, if 70 percent of respondents ranked occupation title A as "9," 10 percent as "8," and 20 percent as "7," the prestige score for the occupation title A is 86.25 or [12.5 Ã (9-1) Ã 0.7] + [12.5 Ã (8-1) Ã 0.1] + [12.5 Ã (7-1) Ã 0.2] = 86.25.
For more information, see K. Nakao and J. Treas. 1994. "Updating Occupational Prestige and Socioeconomic Scores: How the New Measures Measure Up." Sociological Methodology 24: 1-72.
Nakao and Treas's work was based on the 1980 occupational classification scheme, which was in most respects identical to the 1990 scheme. The IPUMS version of PRENT uses the modified version of the 1990 occupational classification scheme available in the OCC1990 variable. Several 1990 occupational categories were aggregated for the modified version of the 1990 occupational classification scheme. In these cases, the prestige score was calculated as the weighted average of 1990 occupational categories.
Alternative measures of occupational standing that are based on OCC1990 are available in EDSCOR90, ERSCOR90, HWSEI, and NPBOSS90. For information on occupational standing measures, see "Integrated Occupation and Industry Codes and Occupational Standing Variables in the IPUMS."
User caution: There is significant debate about the usefulness of composite measures of occupational standing (in the IPUMS, these variables include SEI, HWSEI, NPBOSS50, and NPBOSS90). We strongly urge researchers to read our user note on this issue and to familiarize themselves with the debates surrounding the use of these variables.
