Mortensen Erik Lykke, Okholm Gunhild Tidemann, Flensborg-Madsen Trine, Osler Merete, Hegelund Emilie Rune
Unit of Medical Psychology, Section of Environmental Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen K, Denmark.
PLoS One. 2025 Sep 10;20(9):e0330130. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0330130. eCollection 2025.
Previous studies have found paternal occupation, childhood intelligence, and educational attainment to be important predictors of socioeconomic status (SES) later in life. However, these factors only explain part of the variance in SES and thus, it is important to identify other predictors of SES and trajectories of influence from early childhood to adulthood.
To analyze predictors of SES attainment during the life course from early childhood to midlife with special emphasis on identifying direct and indirect effects on midlife SES of early childhood, late childhood and young adult characteristics.
This study uses questionnaire and national registry data, including data on parental social background, intelligence, education, and midlife SES for 6,294 members of the Metropolit 1953 Danish Male Birth Cohort. The study sample included cohort members with information on intelligence at age 12 who were living in Denmark at age 50. Using structural equation modelling, direct and indirect mediated effects on midlife SES were estimated for early childhood, late childhood, and young adult characteristics.
Educational attainment, intelligence, parental education, and father's occupational class had the strongest influences on midlife SES. A prediction model only including education and intelligence could only be slightly improved by the inclusion of other predictors, from 53.5% to 54.1% explained variance in midlife SES. Educational attainment was a particularly strong predictor of status attainment. Other early and late childhood factors had relatively weak direct effects, but significant indirect effects. Thus, it was possible to identify trajectories of influence from early childhood to midlife.
Young adult education and intelligence were the strongest predictors of midlife SES. Early and late childhood factors influence young adult characteristics, but over the life course the direct effects of early life variables tend to decrease, and the effects on midlife SES become mediated and indirect.
先前的研究发现，父亲的职业、童年时期的智力和教育程度是成年后社会经济地位（SES）的重要预测因素。然而，这些因素仅解释了SES差异的一部分，因此，确定SES的其他预测因素以及从幼儿期到成年期的影响轨迹非常重要。
分析从幼儿期到中年期整个生命过程中SES获得的预测因素，特别强调确定幼儿期、童年后期和青年期特征对中年期SES的直接和间接影响。
本研究使用问卷调查和国家登记数据，包括1953年丹麦大都市男性出生队列中6294名成员的父母社会背景、智力、教育和中年期SES数据。研究样本包括在50岁时居住在丹麦且有12岁时智力信息的队列成员。使用结构方程模型，估计了幼儿期、童年后期和青年期特征对中年期SES的直接和间接中介效应。
教育程度、智力、父母教育程度和父亲的职业阶层对中年期SES影响最大。仅包含教育和智力的预测模型通过纳入其他预测因素仅能略有改善，中年期SES的解释方差从53.5%提高到54.1%。教育程度是地位获得的一个特别强的预测因素。其他幼儿期和童年后期因素的直接影响相对较弱，但有显著的间接影响。因此，有可能确定从幼儿期到中年期的影响轨迹。
青年期的教育和智力是中年期SES最强的预测因素。幼儿期和童年后期因素影响青年期特征，但在整个生命过程中，早期生活变量的直接影响往往会减弱，对中年期SES的影响变为中介性和间接性。
