The Impact of Childhood and Adult SES on Physical, Mental, and Cognitive Well-Being in Later Life

Abstract

To examine the relationships between socioeconomic status (SES) and health across the life course and their variations by gender and race/ethnicity. The sample included 19,949 respondents aged 50 or over from the 1998 Health and Retirement Study. Lower childhood SES was associated with worse health outcomes in later life. Part of the effect of childhood SES on adult health occurred through childhood health. The impact of childhood SES on education and income in adulthood explained an even larger share of this effect. We also found a stronger effect of adult SES for those with lower childhood SES than for those with more advantaged childhoods. Moreover, childhood SES had a similar impact on health in later life for women and men and for Whites and non-Whites. However, college education seemed more important for women's later health, whereas income seemed more important for men's health. Education appeared to have a weaker effect on adult health for Blacks and Hispanics than for Whites. Both childhood and adult SES are important for health. The negative impact of low childhood SES can be partially ameliorated if people from a low SES position during childhood mobilize to higher status in adulthood.