Zheng Hui, Lu Yao, Yao Man
Department of Sociology, Institute for Population Research, The Ohio State University, USA; Department of Sociology, Research Hub of Population Studies, University of Hong Kong, China.
Department of Sociology, Columbia Population Research Center, Columbia University, USA.
Soc Sci Res. 2024 May;120:103015. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.103015. Epub 2024 Apr 4.
This study examines the health consequences and underlying pathways of education-occupation mismatch. Using a longitudinal sample of college graduates from the Panel Studies of Income Dynamics (1984-2019) and employing longitudinal hybrid models, we found that contemporary vertical mismatch (between education level and educational requirements of occupation) was associated with poorer psychological well-being and bio-behaviors (obesity and smoking), but not physical health. In contrast, horizontal mismatch (between field of study and field required for occupation) did not show clear health consequences. Sequence analysis was employed to uncover the mismatch trajectories and revealed that persistent vertical mismatch over one's career had a greater impact on psychological distress and smoking than episodic mismatch experiences. Furthermore, the linkage between vertical mismatch and health outcomes was likely shaped by psychosocial processes rather than reduced material well-being. These findings imply that education-occupation vertical (mis)match produces health disparities between occupationally matched and mismatched college graduates.
本研究考察了教育与职业不匹配对健康的影响及其潜在途径。利用收入动态面板研究（1984 - 2019年）中大学毕业生的纵向样本，并采用纵向混合模型，我们发现，当代的垂直不匹配（教育水平与职业的教育要求之间的不匹配）与较差的心理健康和生物行为（肥胖和吸烟）相关，但与身体健康无关。相比之下，水平不匹配（研究领域与职业所需领域之间的不匹配）并未显示出明显的健康影响。我们采用序列分析来揭示不匹配轨迹，结果显示，在一个人的职业生涯中持续存在的垂直不匹配对心理困扰和吸烟的影响比偶尔出现的不匹配经历更大。此外，垂直不匹配与健康结果之间的联系可能是由心理社会过程塑造的，而不是物质福利的减少。这些发现表明，教育与职业的垂直（不）匹配在职业匹配和不匹配的大学毕业生之间产生了健康差异。
