Early-Life Socioeconomic Status and Mortality at Three Life Course Stages: An Increasing Within-Cohort Inequality.

ABSTRACT: Using the 1957-2011 data from 10,317 participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, I examine how socioeconomic status (SES) at age 18 affects all-cause mortality between ages 18 and 72. Integrating fundamental cause theory, gender relations theory, and a life course perspective, I evaluate the cumulative advantage (CA) and age-as-leveler processes as well as gender differences in these processes. Findings indicate that higher early-life SES at age 18 is related to lower mortality over the life course, and the effect of early-life SES is not explained by socioeconomic achievement and health behaviors in adulthood. Consistent with the CA model, early-life SES generates increasing within-cohort inequality with age, and this CA process is stronger for women than men. Results also show that

SUBMITTER: Pudrovska T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7416735 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature