ABSTRACT
Although social class has gained increasing attention in social psychology, discursive approaches remain underutilized. This study explores how Finnish youth make sense of social class, employing a mixed-methods design grounded in a cultural approach to social class. Factor analysis and correlations revealed patterns of inconsistency in how young people subjectively perceive familial class background. To deepen this understanding, a qualitative analysis using critical discursive psychology (CDP) tools—interpretative repertoires and subject positions—was conducted. Two key repertoires were identified: separating, where participants distinguished themselves from other classes, and distancing, where they partly disassociated from their own class background. Through morally grounded negotiations, participants constructed classed identities that were ambivalent, combining cultural resources of welfare and meritocratic ideologies. Methodologically, the study demonstrates the value of combining broad pattern recognition with detailed discursive analysis. Theoretically, it contributes to the social psychological study of social class by showing how discursive strategies and cultural resources shape class negotiations. The integration of quantitative and qualitative findings highlights the dynamic and negotiated nature of social class.