The Impact of Adolescent Health on Young Adult Educational Attainment

• In Event: 182 - Regular Session. Health and Well-being: Contextual Effects

Abstract

Numerous studies about educational attainment have been published, but the aspect of health is largely missing from the traditional educational stratification literature. For the general population, we know little about the potential long-term health impact on educational attainment. This paper examines the association between adolescent health and young adult educational attainment. Based on the competence theory in the life course literature, I investigated six health measures and the hypothesis: healthy adolescents will have attained higher educational degrees as young adults than less healthy youths. The analytic sample consists of 4,204 respondents from the Add Health public-use sample (mean age was 16 years in 1994-5 school year, and 29 years in 2008). Results from weighted ordered logistic regressions showed that health status during adolescence significantly predicted degree attainment by young adulthood, even with account for demographic characteristics, prior academic performance, and social relationships. Among significant health measures, better self-rated health, less frequent school absence due to health problems, and more frequent feeling of positive affect were related to greater estimated odds of attaining a higher degree, whereas, greater self-esteem was surprisingly associated with less odds. The data also suggest positive effect of being in the normal/underweight category, but the effect of weight status varied across social groups. Overall, regression results are consistent with the multidimensional wellness approach to life and support the health competence hypothesis. The findings suggest that interventions incorporating student health can be just as important as academic interventions in closing down the attainment gap.

Author

• Mei-Chia Fong, State University of New Jersey-Rutgers at New Brunswick