University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
J Health Soc Behav. 2021 Mar;62(1):2-18. doi: 10.1177/0022146520979664. Epub 2021 Jan 13.
Ample research suggests that the links between higher education and heath are robust and growing in strength. This research, however, tends to assume education was completed prior to assuming other adult roles. Importantly, the life course framework raises the question of whether "out-of-sequence" college completion conveys similar health returns. I investigate this question among a population for whom out-of-sequence schooling has grown more common: lower-educated mothers. This focus is also important given the growing education gap in women's health and the links between maternal and child health. Data come from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898). Analyses involve random intercept and fixed effects models and diverse health measures. Findings suggest that postsecondary education does not improve mother's health, except for reduced smoking among mothers with high school degrees or less that earned bachelor's degrees. These findings inform health policy debates and theories linking education to health.
大量研究表明，高等教育与健康之间的联系是稳健且不断增强的。然而，此类研究往往假设教育是在承担其他成人角色之前完成的。重要的是，生命历程框架提出了这样一个问题，即“非顺序”完成大学学业是否会带来类似的健康回报。我在一个受教育程度较低的母亲群体中研究了这个问题，在这个群体中，非顺序的学校教育变得更加普遍。鉴于女性健康方面的教育差距不断扩大，以及母婴健康之间的联系，这一关注点也很重要。数据来自脆弱家庭和儿童福利研究（N=4898）。分析涉及随机截距和固定效应模型以及各种健康指标。研究结果表明，除了高中及以下学历的母亲获得学士学位后吸烟减少之外，接受高等教育并不会改善母亲的健康。这些发现为健康政策辩论和将教育与健康联系起来的理论提供了信息。
