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Education and health-lifestyle among men and women in Sweden: a 27-year prospective cohort study
Umeå University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology.
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine.
Umeå University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Sociology. Centre for Applied Psychological Research, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, Australia .
2013 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, ISSN 1403-4948, E-ISSN 1651-1905, Vol. 41, no 3, p. 284-292Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Background: Previous research has found a positive association between health-behaviour and health. Only a few longitudinalstudies have been performed, and as far as we found, none have followed a cohort for 27 years. Methods: This study used acohort study, the “Northern Swedish Cohort”, which consisted of all graduates, n = 1080, from a compulsory school in aSwedish town. Data were collected with a comprehensive questionnaire; response rate 96.4%. Health-behaviour was analysedwith binary logistic regression, with health-behaviour at age 21, 30 and 43 years as dependent variable. Besides baselinehealth-behaviour, gender, somatic and psychological health and socioeconomic background, the analyses were adjustedfor work situation and social network. Results: The main findings were that education reduces the probability of unhealthybehaviour over the life course, which held after controlling for early life health-behaviour and possible confounders. Thegeneral education effect on health-behaviour was stronger among men than among women. Conclusions: Higher educationreduces the probability of unhealthy behavior. Thus, investments in higher education should be an important public goal.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Sage Publications, 2013. Vol. 41, no 3, p. 284-292
Keywords [en]
education, health-behaviour, life course, youth
National Category
Sociology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-66156DOI: 10.1177/1403494813475531ISI: 000318632100009Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84876126184OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-66156DiVA, id: diva2:606035
Available from: 2013-02-18 Created: 2013-02-18 Last updated: 2023-03-24Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Non-market outcomes of education: the long-term impact of education on individuals' social participation and health in Sweden
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Non-market outcomes of education: the long-term impact of education on individuals' social participation and health in Sweden
2014 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

In research, it is typical to analyse and discuss the utility of education in economic terms—specifically the market value of a particular degree or the financial returns associated with additional years in higher education. However, education may also generate outcomes that belong to the non-market sphere, such as open-mindedness, societal cohesion, community involvement, better health, and gender equality; yet these outcomes have received little scholarly attention. The main objective of this thesis, therefore, is to investigate the relationship between education and four non-market outcomes: agency, voice, health behaviour and psychological distress. By utilizing two longitudinal data sets, the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions and the Northern Swedish Cohort, it is possible to assess the long-term effects of education on each of these four non-market outcomes.

Results clearly demonstrate that education has a critical impact on each of the outcomes of interest. Having a higher education—and in particular a university degree–enhances individuals’ agency and voice, reduces psychological distress, and improves individuals’ health behaviour. Further, results show that different academic subjects generate field-specific resources. In contrast to a market perspective, where the value of the specific field of study is assessed only in economic terms, results indicate that fields that are commonly viewed as having low market value may actually yield non-economic rewards that benefit individuals in critically important ways.

Analyses also show that individual and social factors shape the extent to which education leads to positive outcomes. In terms of agency and voice, results indicate that education can compensate for social differences. Among those with a working class background, earning a university degree contributes to increasing levels of agency and voice, while no significant effects of education exist for those with a white-collar background. Results also demonstrate that the impact of education on psychological well-being differs for men and women. For men, labour market resources (i.e., being employed) was important for reducing psychological distress, while for women social resources (i.e., having a partner) was more important.

Due to its use of high quality, longitudinal data, this thesis makes a significant contribution to the scholarly literature and to what we know about the impact of education attainment. A limitation of cross-sectional analyses is that it is difficult to separate causal effects from selection effects. By adopting a longitudinal approach, it is possible to control for earlier (baseline) circumstances and therefore assess the causal impact of education on individual outcomes. This strategy yields robust results that make clear the long-term effects of educational attainment on individuals.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Umeå: Umeå universitet, 2014. p. 38
Series
Akademiska avhandlingar vid Sociologiska institutionen, Umeå universitet, ISSN 1104-2508 ; 74
Keywords
education, non-market outcomes, agency, voice, health behaviour, psychological distress, longitudinal design, capability approach, Sweden
National Category
Social Sciences
Research subject
Sociology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-88369 (URN)978-91-7601-051-8 (ISBN)
Public defence
2014-05-30, Hörsal 1031, Norra beteendevetarhuset, Umeå universitet, Umeå, 13:15 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2014-05-09 Created: 2014-05-05 Last updated: 2018-06-07Bibliographically approved

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Publisher's full textScopushttp://sjp.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/02/12/1403494813475531.full.pdf+html

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Brännlund, AnnicaHammarström, AnneStrandh, Mattias

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