diff --git a/lib/jsonapi/error.rb b/lib/jsonapi/error.rb
index 12d65f58..cfc04eed 100644
--- a/lib/jsonapi/error.rb
+++ b/lib/jsonapi/error.rb
@@ -4,6 +4,26 @@ module JSONAPI
   class Error
     attr_accessor :title, :detail, :id, :href, :code, :source, :links, :status, :meta
 
+    # Rack 3.0+ deprecated :unprocessable_entity in favor of :unprocessable_content
+    # This mapping ensures compatibility across Rack versions
+    DEPRECATED_STATUS_SYMBOLS = {
+      unprocessable_entity: :unprocessable_content
+    }.freeze
+
+    def self.status_code_for(status_symbol)
+      return nil if status_symbol.nil?
+
+      # Try the symbol directly first
+      code = Rack::Utils::SYMBOL_TO_STATUS_CODE[status_symbol]
+
+      # If not found and it's a deprecated symbol, try the new symbol
+      if code.nil? && DEPRECATED_STATUS_SYMBOLS.key?(status_symbol)
+        code = Rack::Utils::SYMBOL_TO_STATUS_CODE[DEPRECATED_STATUS_SYMBOLS[status_symbol]]
+      end
+
+      code&.to_s
+    end
+
     def initialize(options = {})
       @title          = options[:title]
       @detail         = options[:detail]
@@ -17,7 +37,7 @@ def initialize(options = {})
       @source         = options[:source]
       @links          = options[:links]
 
-      @status         = Rack::Utils::SYMBOL_TO_STATUS_CODE[options[:status]].to_s
+      @status         = self.class.status_code_for(options[:status])
       @meta           = options[:meta]
     end
 
@@ -48,7 +68,7 @@ def update_with_overrides(error_object_overrides)
 
       if error_object_overrides[:status]
         # :nocov:
-        @status         = Rack::Utils::SYMBOL_TO_STATUS_CODE[error_object_overrides[:status]].to_s
+        @status         = self.class.status_code_for(error_object_overrides[:status])
         # :nocov:
       end
       @meta           = error_object_overrides[:meta] || @meta
diff --git a/test/fixtures/active_record.rb b/test/fixtures/active_record.rb
index f8959317..85d764fd 100644
--- a/test/fixtures/active_record.rb
+++ b/test/fixtures/active_record.rb
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
   end
 
   create_table :posts, force: true do |t|
-    t.string     :title, length: 255
+    t.string     :title, limit: 255
     t.text       :body
     t.integer    :author_id
     t.integer    :parent_post_id
@@ -324,8 +324,8 @@
 
   create_table :related_things, force: true  do |t|
     t.string :name
-    t.references :from, references: :thing
-    t.references :to, references: :thing
+    t.references :from, foreign_key: false
+    t.references :to, foreign_key: false
 
     t.timestamps null: false
   end
diff --git a/test/test_db-shm b/test/test_db-shm
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..930f51a1
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/test_db-shm differ
diff --git a/test/test_db-wal b/test/test_db-wal
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3e6b47c1
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/test_db-wal differ
diff --git a/test/test_helper.rb b/test/test_helper.rb
index 953c8be7..01f90e20 100644
--- a/test/test_helper.rb
+++ b/test/test_helper.rb
@@ -47,29 +47,10 @@
 ENV['DATABASE_URL'] ||= "sqlite3:test_db"
 
 require 'active_record/railtie'
-require 'rails/test_help'
-require 'minitest/mock'
-require 'jsonapi-resources'
-require 'pry'
-
-require File.expand_path('../helpers/value_matchers', __FILE__)
-require File.expand_path('../helpers/assertions', __FILE__)
-require File.expand_path('../helpers/functional_helpers', __FILE__)
-require File.expand_path('../helpers/configuration_helpers', __FILE__)
 
+# Rails 7.1+ requires the application to be defined before requiring rails/test_help
 Rails.env = 'test'
 
-I18n.load_path += Dir[File.expand_path("../../locales/*.yml", __FILE__)]
-I18n.enforce_available_locales = false
-
-JSONAPI.configure do |config|
-  config.json_key_format = :camelized_key
-end
-
-ActiveSupport::Deprecation.silenced = true
-
-puts "Testing With RAILS VERSION #{Rails.version}"
-
 class TestApp < Rails::Application
   config.eager_load = false
   config.root = File.dirname(__FILE__)
@@ -91,6 +72,39 @@ class TestApp < Rails::Application
   end
 end
 
+# Rails 7.1+ requires the application to be initialized before requiring rails/test_help
+# Earlier versions require the opposite order
+if Rails::VERSION::MAJOR >= 8 || (Rails::VERSION::MAJOR == 7 && Rails::VERSION::MINOR >= 1)
+  TestApp.initialize!
+end
+
+require 'rails/test_help'
+
+# Initialize app for Rails < 7.1 (for Rails 7.1+ it was already initialized above)
+unless Rails::VERSION::MAJOR >= 8 || (Rails::VERSION::MAJOR == 7 && Rails::VERSION::MINOR >= 1)
+  TestApp.initialize!
+end
+
+require 'minitest/mock'
+require 'jsonapi-resources'
+require 'pry'
+
+require File.expand_path('../helpers/value_matchers', __FILE__)
+require File.expand_path('../helpers/assertions', __FILE__)
+require File.expand_path('../helpers/functional_helpers', __FILE__)
+require File.expand_path('../helpers/configuration_helpers', __FILE__)
+
+I18n.load_path += Dir[File.expand_path("../../locales/*.yml", __FILE__)]
+I18n.enforce_available_locales = false
+
+JSONAPI.configure do |config|
+  config.json_key_format = :camelized_key
+end
+
+ActiveSupport::Deprecation.silenced = true
+
+puts "Testing With RAILS VERSION #{Rails.version}"
+
 DatabaseCleaner.allow_remote_database_url = true
 DatabaseCleaner.strategy = :transaction
 
@@ -214,10 +228,15 @@ def show_queries
   end
 end
 
-TestApp.initialize!
+# TestApp.initialize! already called earlier for Rails 7.1+ compatibility
 
 require File.expand_path('../fixtures/active_record', __FILE__)
 
+# Disable foreign key constraints for SQLite in test environment (Rails 7.1+)
+# This allows force: true to drop and recreate tables without constraint errors
+# Must be called after active_record.rb which sets up the schema
+ActiveRecord::Base.connection.execute("PRAGMA foreign_keys = OFF") if ActiveRecord::Base.connection.adapter_name == 'SQLite'
+
 module Pets
   module V1
     class CatsController < JSONAPI::ResourceController