Childhood behavioral problems are associated with the intergenerational transmission of low education: a 16-year population-based study.

The intergenerational transmission of low educational attainment is well-documented, but little is known about how behavioral problems in childhood explain this association. Drawing upon a population-based cohort study (n = 3020) linked to administrative records, we investigated the extent to which inattentive, internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors at child ages 6-8 years accounted for associations between parental education and child's risk of failing to graduate from high school. We adjusted for economic, demographic, cognitive, and perinatal factors, as well as parental mental health. Using logistic regressions and the Karlson-Holm-Breen decomposition method, we found that childhood behaviors together explained 19.5% of the association between mother's education and child's high school graduation status at age 22/23, and 13.7% of the association between father's education and this same outcome. Inattentive behaviors were most strongly associated with failure to graduate from high school, while the role of other behaviors was modest or negligible. Inattentive behaviors may represent a mediational pathway between parental education and child education. Early interventions targeting inattentive behaviors could potentially enhance the prospects of intergenerational educational mobility.

Social mobility and mental health in Canada.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether intergenerational mobility in education and income are associated with levels of psychological distress in Canada, a context in which rates of intergenerational mobility are higher than those of the United States but lower than those of Nordic countries. METHODS: The data came from the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA) linked to tax records from the Canada Revenue Agency (N = 4100). Diagonal reference models were used to investigate whether educational mobility and income mobility were associated with levels of psychological distress in adulthood as assessed by the Kessler (K-10) scale. The models controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and were stratified by gender. RESULTS: Although we did not find that mobility in general was associated with greater levels of psychological distress, we found that downward educational mobility in particular corresponded to higher levels of psychological distress (b = 0.15 with 95% CI = 0.00, 0.31) among men. CONCLUSION: Overall, we found no strong evidence that social mobility in general is impactful for levels of psychological distress, but downward educational mobility in particular may have negative consequences for the mental health of men. In addition, a notable gradient between income and psychological distress in adulthood was observed for both women and men.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIFS: Étudier dans quelle(s) mesure(s) la mobilité intergénérationnelle en matière d'éducation et de revenu est associée aux niveaux de détresse psychologique au Canada, dans un contexte où les taux de mobilité intergénérationnelle sont plus élevés qu'aux États-Unis, mais plus faibles que dans les pays nordiques. MéTHODES: Les données proviennent de l'Étude longitudinale et internationale des adultes (ELIA) reliée aux dossiers fiscaux de l'Agence du revenu du Canada (N = 4 100). Des modèles de référence diagonaux ont été utilisés pour déterminer si la mobilité éducationnelle et la mobilité des revenus étaient associées aux niveaux de détresse psychologique à l'âge adulte, tels qu'évalués par l'échelle de Kessler (K-10). Les modèles ont tenu compte des caractéristiques sociodémographiques et ont été stratifiés en fonction du genre. RéSULTATS: Bien que nous n'ayons pas trouvé que la mobilité en général était associée à des niveaux plus élevés de détresse psychologique, nous avons trouvé que la mobilité éducationnelle descendante correspondait à des niveaux plus élevés de détresse psychologique (b = 0,15 avec IC 95% = 0,00, 0,31) chez les hommes. CONCLUSION: Dans l'ensemble, nous n'avons pas trouvé de preuves solides que la mobilité sociale en général a un impact sur les niveaux de détresse psychologique, mais la mobilité éducationnelle descendante en particulier peut avoir des conséquences négatives sur la santé mentale des hommes. En outre, un gradient notable entre le revenu et la détresse psychologique à l'âge adulte a été observé tant chez les femmes que chez les hommes.

The social and economic impact of the Montreal Longitudinal and Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of early prevention programmes and their viability as a public policy option have increasingly caught the attention of scholars and policymakers. Given the implementation costs of such programmes, it is important to assess whether they achieved anticipated objectives and whether they made efficient use of taxpayer money. AIM: To discuss the social and economic impact of a 2-year randomised intervention aimed to improve social skills and self-control (i.e., non-cognitive skills) among disruptive boys from low-income neighbourhoods in Montreal. METHOD: We review findings from published studies documenting the impact of the intervention at different stages of the life course, as well as its cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit. RESULTS: The intervention improved behavioural indicators throughout adolescence and eventually led to greater high school graduation rates, reduced crime, and better labour market outcomes in adulthood. Importantly, the prevention programme generated considerable returns to taxpayer investments. CONCLUSION: Findings from the Montreal Longitudinal Experimental Study have been well-received and have contributed to an early prevention 'awakening' in Quebec and elsewhere.

Intergenerational reproduction and self-rated health in Canada.

Intergenerational processes in which the socioeconomic status of middle- and upper-class parents is reproduced in their children have been extensively documented by social scientists. We mobilized a unique dataset, the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA) linked to income data from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), to investigate the relevance of intergenerational socioeconomic reproduction for inequalities in self-rated health in a national sample of Canadians aged 25 to 50. We found strong intergenerational elasticities implicating both parental education and parental family income in the acquisition of both personal education and personal family income. Parental education was not significantly associated with self-rated health. Parental family income was significantly associated with self-rated health among women only, partly explained by the socioeconomic status of the women themselves. These results suggest that intergenerational reproduction plays a small role in the generation of high levels of self-rated health among Canadian women but not among Canadian men.

Les processus intergénérationnels dans lesquels le statut socioéconomique des parents de classe moyenne et supérieure est reproduit chez leurs enfants ont été largement documentés par les chercheurs en sciences sociales. Nous avons mobilisé un ensemble de données unique, l'Étude longitudinale et internationale des adultes liée aux données sur le revenu de l'Agence du revenu du Canada, pour étudier la pertinence de la reproduction socioéconomique intergénérationnelle pour les inégalités en matière de santé auto-évaluée dans un échantillon national de Canadiens âgés de 25 à 50 ans. Nous avons trouvé de fortes élasticités intergénérationnelles impliquant à la fois l'éducation des parents et le revenu familial des parents dans l'acquisition de l'éducation personnelle et du revenu familial personnel. L'éducation des parents n'était pas significativement associée à la santé auto-évaluée. Le revenu familial parental était significativement associé à la santé auto-évaluée chez les femmes uniquement, ce qui s'explique en partie par le statut socio-économique des femmes elles-mêmes. Ces résultats suggèrent que la reproduction intergénérationnelle joue un petit rôle dans la génération de niveaux élevés de santé auto-évaluée chez les femmes canadiennes mais pas chez les hommes canadiens.

The measure of a fan: Social patterns of voracious sports following in Canada.

Sociological studies on the manifestations and reproduction of inequality through cultural consumption have focused on few domains of culture and have mostly neglected intensity in consumption. Using large-scale survey data about professional sports following in Canada, we investigate how socioeconomic position is associated with intensity of professional sports following ("voraciousness"). Our multinomial logistic regression analyses suggest that social class, gender, and geography are predictors of voraciousness in each of the major professional sports leagues. Our latent class analysis (LCA) reveals seven sports following profiles marked by differences in range and intensity of following. We find that the most voracious sport followers are also the most omnivorous but are not distinctively the most privileged group. Findings suggest a distinct sport following profile of the predominantly male and economically dominant group in the field of social classes and point toward groups of sport followers with different styles of aversion and passing knowledge, perhaps in a type of deployment of Bourdieu's (1984) disinterested aesthetic. Overall, however, gender and region appear to be stronger predictors of voraciousness in sports following than social class in the Canadian context.

Les études sociologiques sur les manifestations et la reproduction de l'inégalité par la consommation culturelle se sont concentrées sur quelques domaines de la culture et ont surtout négligé l'intensité de la consommation. À l'aide de données d'enquête à grande échelle sur les adeptes du sport professionnel au Canada, nous étudions comment la position socio-économique est associée à l'intensité de l'adoration du sport professionnel ("voracité"). Nos analyses de régression logistique multinomiale suggèrent que la classe sociale, le sexe et la géographie sont des prédicteurs de la voracité dans chacune des principales ligues de sport professionnel. Notre analyse de classe latente révèle sept profils de suiveurs sportifs marqués par des différences dans l'étendue et l'intensité de leur suivi. Nous constatons que les adeptes de sports les plus voraces sont aussi les plus omnivores, mais ne constituent pas distinctement le groupe le plus privilégié. Les résultats suggèrent un profil d'adepte du sport distinct du groupe majoritairement masculin et économiquement dominant dans le domaine des classes sociales et indiquent des groupes d'adeptes du sport avec différents styles d'aversion et de connaissance passagère, peut-être dans un type de déploiement de l'esthétique désintéressée de Bourdieu (1984). Dans l'ensemble, cependant, le sexe et la région semblent être des prédicteurs plus forts de la voracité dans le suivi des sports que la classe sociale dans le contexte canadien.

Interactions between parental and personal socioeconomic resources and self-rated health: Adjudicating between the resource substitution and resource multiplication theories.

A small body of research has documented intriguing findings, mostly from the United States but also from Europe, which suggest that the positive health effects of socioeconomic resources in adulthood may be conditioned by socioeconomic circumstances in childhood. There are two competing theories in this literature. The first contends that socioeconomic resources have a stronger effect on adult health for people from disadvantaged backgrounds because socioeconomic resources in adulthood substitute or compensate for a paucity of health-related resources earlier in life. The second contends that socioeconomic resources have a stronger effect on adult health for people from advantaged backgrounds because socioeconomic resources in adulthood compound or multiply the health effects of socioeconomic resources earlier in life. We used survey data from the 2012 Longitudinal and International Study of Adults linked to current and historical income data from the Canada Revenue Agency to investigate interactions between parental and personal socioeconomic resources - education and income, treated separately - as predictors of self-rated health in a sample of Canadians aged 25 to 50. Consistent with the resource multiplication theory, we found that the presumed benefits of personal family income for self-rated health were stronger for women from wealthier backgrounds than for women from poorer backgrounds. We found no evidence to support either theory among men. Overall, none of the interactions involving the education of parents or their adult children reached statistical significance. Our results are indicative of the importance of distinguishing between education and income for adults and their parents when adjudicating between these two theories.

Intergenerational social mobility and self-rated health in Canada.

A growing body of research seeks to reveal the health effects of 'falling from grace' or 'rising from rags,' i.e., experiencing downward or upward mobility relative to one's family socioeconomic background. In this study, we mobilized a unique dataset, the 2012 Longitudinal and International Study of Adults linked to historical income data from the Canada Revenue Agency, to investigate associations between both educational and income mobility and self-rated health in a national sample of approximately 2500 women and 2300 men aged 25 to 50. Compared to educational immobility, extreme downward educational mobility corresponded to elevated odds of reporting good/fair/poor health among women (OR = 3.053; 95% CI = 0.991 … 9.393). Compared to income immobility, downward income mobility in general (OR = 1.533; 95% CI = 1.115 … 2.106) and extreme downward income mobility in particular (OR = 2.389; 95% CI = 1.481 … 3.854) both corresponded to elevated odds of reporting good/fair/poor health among women. Among men, extreme upward income mobility (OR = 0.674; 95% CI = 0.463 … 0.984) corresponded to reduced odds of reporting good/fair/poor health and extreme downward income mobility (OR = 2.237; 95% CI = 1.157 … 4.323) corresponded to elevated odds of reporting good/fair/poor health, compared to men with immobile incomes. In summary, upward income mobility was beneficial for men's self-rated health, downward educational mobility was detrimental to the self-rated health of women, and downward income mobility was detrimental to the self-rated health of both women and men in this Canadian study.

Socio-economic resources and adult mental health in Canada: controlling for time-invariant confounders and investigating causal directionality.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether family income and education have a causal effect on psychological distress among Canadian adults. METHODS: We executed fixed-effects regression analyses using data from the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults (LISA). We investigated whether changes in family income and education from wave 2 (2014) to wave 3 (2016) corresponded with changes in psychological distress during this same time period. We also investigated whether changes in these socio-economic resources from wave 1 (2012) to wave 2 (2014) corresponded with lagged changes in psychological distress from wave 2 (2014) to wave 3 (2016). These models controlled for all time-invariant confounders with time-invariant effects, as well as the time-varying factors age, marital status, household size, and employment status. RESULTS: Obtaining a postsecondary degree corresponded with lagged decreases in psychological distress among women ages 18 to 32 (b = -1.97; 95% CI = -3.53, -0.42) and men over the age of 32 (b = -1.86; 95% CI = -3.57, -0.15). The effect of postsecondary education was stronger when considering adults who stayed married throughout the three waves (b = -2.29; 95% CI = -4.37, -0.21). CONCLUSION: Completing postsecondary education may have a lagged causal effect on psychological distress, and the life course timing for when postsecondary completion reduces distress is different for women and men.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIF: L'objectif de cette étude était de déterminer si le revenu familial et le niveau de scolarité ont un effet causal sur la détresse psychologique chez les adultes canadiens. MéTHODES: Nous avons exécuté des analyses de régression à effets fixes en utilisant les données de l'Étude longitudinale et internationale des adultes (ELIA). Nous cherchions à savoir si les changements dans le revenu familial et le niveau de scolarité de la deuxième vague (2014) à la troisième vague (2016) correspondaient à des changements dans la détresse psychologique au cours de cette même période. Nous cherchions également à savoir si les changements dans ces ressources socio-économiques de la première vague (2012) à la deuxième vague (2014) correspondaient à un futur changement de la détresse psychologique de la deuxième vague (2014) à la troisième vague (2016). Ces modèles contrôlaient tous les facteurs de confusion invariant dans le temps, ainsi que quelques facteurs variant dans le temps (l'âge, l'état matrimonial, la taille du ménage et la situation d'emploi). RéSULTATS: L'obtention d'un diplôme d'études postsecondaires correspondait à des diminutions futures de la détresse psychologique chez les femmes de 18 à 32 ans (b = −1,97; IC à 95% = −3,53, −0,42) et les hommes de plus de 32 ans (b = −1,86; IC à 95% = −3,57, −0,15). L'effet des études postsecondaires était plus grand chez les adultes qui sont restés mariés pendant les trois vagues (b = −2,29; IC à 95% = −4,37, − 0,21). CONCLUSION: L'accomplissement des études postsecondaires peut avoir un effet causal sur la détresse psychologique. On note aussi que la période de vie pendant laquelle cette réduction est observée est différente pour les hommes et les femmes.

Family income and health in Canada: a longitudinal study of stability and change.

BACKGROUND: Extensive research has shown strong associations between income and health. However, the health effects of income dynamics over time are less known. We investigated how stability, volatility and trajectory in family incomes from 2002 to 2011 predicted (1) fair/poor self-rated health and (2) the presence of a longstanding illness or health problem in 2012. METHODS: The data came from the 2012 wave of the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults linked to annual family income data for 2002 to 2011 from the Canada Revenue Agency. We executed a series of binary logistic regressions to examine associations between health and average family income over the decade (Model 1), number of years in the bottom quartile (Model 2) and top quartile (Model 3) of family incomes, standard deviation of family incomes (Model 4), absolute difference between family income at the end and start of the period (Model 5), and number of years in which inflation-adjusted family income went down by more than 1% (Model 6) and up by more than 1% (Model 7) from 1 year to the next. The analyses were conducted separately for women and men. RESULTS: Average family income over the decade was strongly associated with both self-rated health and the presence of a longstanding illness or health problem. More years spent in the bottom quartile of family incomes corresponded to elevated odds of fair/poor self-rated health and the presence of a longstanding illness or health problem. Steady decreases in family income over the decade corresponded to elevated odds of fair/poor self-rated health for men and more years spent in the top quartile of family incomes over the decade corresponded to elevated odds of fair/poor self-rated health for women. CONCLUSION: Previous studies of the association between family income and health in Canada may have overlooked important issues pertaining to family income stability and change that are impactful for health.

Does household income mediate the association between education and health in Canada?

Objectives: The study aim was to investigate whether household income mediates the association between education and health in a nationally representative sample of Canadian adults. Methods: The data came from the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults linked to income data from the Canada Revenue Agency. Odds ratios and predicted probabilities from binary logistic regression models were used to describe associations between education and (a) self-rated health, (b) longstanding illness or health problem, (c) emotional, psychological or mental health problem and (d) symptoms of psychological distress. The Karlson-Holm-Breen decomposition method was used to investigate the potentially mediating role of household income in these associations. The analyses were conducted separately for women and men. Results: Education was significantly associated with all four health indicators for both women and men. Of the four health indicators, education was most strongly associated with self-rated health for both women and men. Education was more strongly associated with self-rated health and the presence of an emotional, psychological or mental health problem for women than for men. Curiously, men with a postgraduate degree were significantly more likely than men with a bachelor degree to report symptoms of psychological distress. Only modest proportions of the associations between education and health could be attributed to differences in household income. Education and household income manifested independent associations with all four health indicators among women and with three of four health indicators among men. Conclusions: Education and household income are joint and independent predictors of health in Canada. Accordingly, both should be included in research on socioeconomic health inequalities in this context.

Family income and self-rated health in Canada: Using fixed effects models to control for unobserved confounders and investigate causal temporality.

The objective of this study was to investigate whether the association between family income and adult self-rated health in Canada is causal in nature. The data came from the 2012, 2014 and 2016 waves of the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults linked to current and historical family income data from the Canada Revenue Agency. We used fixed effects models to describe associations between changes in self-rated health between 2012, 2014 and 2016 and changes in equivalized family income between (i) 2011, 2013 and 2015, (ii) 2008, 2009 and 2010, (iii) 2005, 2006 and 2007, (iv) 2002, 2003 and 2004 and (v) 1999, 2000 and 2001. We identified weak negative associations between family income and self-rated health operative over fourteen years or so for both women and men. These associations may be causal in nature. In addition, the implementation of models where changes in income preceded changes in self-rated health suggests that the associations reflect the causal effect of family income on self-rated health rather than the converse. These results make a contribution to the Canadian literature where nearly all previous research on associations between income and self-rated health is cross-sectional in nature and therefore incapable of establishing causal directionality.

The Stratification of Attendance at Cultural Activities in Canada.

Scholars have debated the relative applicability of homology and omnivorousness, two theories of cultural stratification, for explaining links between socioeconomic position and cultural repertoires. However, the discussion has mostly focused on musical tastes rather than attendance at cultural activities. Using data from the 2010 Canadian General Social Survey on Time Use, I examine how measures of socioeconomic position predict attendance at 12 different kinds of cultural activities. I apply three analytical techniques to this data set: (1) binary logistic regressions to investigate the socioeconomic bases of attendance at each cultural activity; (2) ordered logistic regression to assess the nature of the relationship between socioeconomic position and omnivorous attendance; and (3) latent class analysis to identify clusters of attendance and the socioeconomic bases thereof. Controlling for demographic factors, I find that education and income are positively associated with attendance at each activity and with omnivorous cultural engagement. The latent class model reveals four distinct groups: highbrow omnivores, selective omnivores, univores, and inactive people. Education and income predict membership in the omnivorous groups, with stronger effects for highbrow omnivores. I confirm that omnivorousness is associated with cultural and economic elites, but also reveal different gradations of omnivorousness, thus suggesting that the two theoretical frameworks are to a degree entangled with one another.

Les spécialistes ont débattu de l'applicabilité relative de l'homologie et de l'omnivorité, deux théories de la stratification culturelle, pour expliquer les liens entre la position socio-économique et les répertoires culturels. Toutefois, la discussion a surtout porté sur les goûts musicaux plutôt que la participation aux activités culturelles. Recourant à des données de l''Enquête générale' sur 'l'emploi du temps' de 2010, j'examine comment les mesures de la position socio-économique prédisent la participation à 12 différentes activités culturelles. J'applique trois techniques analytiques à cette banque de données : (1) une logistique binaire de régression qui analyse les bases socio-économiques de la participation à chaque activité culturelle, (2) une logistique ordonnée de régression qui évalue la nature de la relation entre la position socio-économique et l'omnivorité de la participation, et (3) une analyse de classe latente qui identifie des groupes de participation et leurs bases socio-économiques. En contrôlant des facteurs démographiques, je révèle que l'éducation et le revenu sont positivement associés à la participation de chaque activité et avec l'omnivorité de l'engagement culturel. Le modèle de la classe latente révèle quatre groupes distincts : des onmivores cérébraux ('highbrow'), des omnivores sélectifs, des 'univores', et des inactifs. L'éducation et le revenu prédisent l'appartenance à ces groupes d'omnivores, avec des effets plus forts pour les omnivores cérébraux. Je confirme que l'omnivorité est associée aux élites culturelles et économiques mais je révèle aussi des gradations différentes de l'omnivorité, suggérant ainsi que les deux approches théoriques sont plus ou moins interreliées ensembles.