Equality of opportunity is linked to lower mortality in Europe

Socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health behaviours across 32 different countries - The role of country-level social mobility

Higher family affluence is associated with healthier behaviours in adolescents, but the strength of this association varies across countries. Differences in social mobility at the country-level, i.e. the extent to which adolescents develop a different socioeconomic status (SES) than their parents, may partially explain why the association between family affluence and adolescent health behaviours is stronger in some countries than in others. Using data from adolescents aged 11-15 years from 32 countries, participating in the 2017/2018 wave of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study (N = 185,086), we employed multilevel regression models with cross-level interactions to examine whether country-level social mobility moderates the association between family affluence and adolescent health behaviours (i.e. moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, vigorous physical activity, healthy and unhealthy foods consumption, having breakfast regularly, and weekly smoking). Higher family affluence was more strongly associated with higher levels of adolescent physical activity in countries characterized by high levels of social mobility. No cross-level interactions were found for any of the other health behaviours. Differences in social mobility at the country-level may contribute to cross-national variations in socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent physical activity. Further research can shed light on the mechanisms linking country-level social mobility to inequalities in adolescent physical activity to identify targets for policy and interventions.

Information About Inequality of Opportunity Increases Downward Mobility Perceptions: A Population-Wide Randomized Survey Experiment

Existing evidence which is primarily based on cross-sectional and observational data suggests that perceptions of doing worse or better than parents might be more important for various life outcomes than the conventional measures of mobility based on the objective indicators of socioeconomic position. In 2021, we commissioned a nationally representative survey in Georgia which included a population-wide randomized survey experiment. We confirmed the association between, on the one hand, perceived social mobility and, on the other hand, physical and mental health, satisfaction with life, and the perceived state of affairs in the country. More importantly, the experimental design allowed us to conclude that the perception of being downwardly mobile was causally determined by a short message shared with individuals that equality of opportunity in their country was low. Those who were given information that children’s socioeconomic position was strongly linked to their parents’ socioeconomic position were seven percentage points more likely than individuals in the control group to perceive themselves as being downwardly mobile. We extrapolate these findings to the broader context and argue that the messages about (in)equality of opportunity which individuals receive in their everyday lives might also shape their perceptions of social mobility in other countries.

Does perceived social mobility affect health? Evidence from a fixed effects approach

RATIONALE

The question as to whether changing one's socioeconomic position over the life course affects health has not been answered in a conclusive manner. At the same time, it has been established that individuals who think of themselves that they are higher in the social hierarchy are healthier than those who think otherwise.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, we focus on perceived social mobility to shed new light on the issue of how social mobility affects health. We examine whether perceived social mobility, i.e., an individual's appraisal of doing better or worse than their parents, affects health by analyzing longitudinal data from Poland.

METHODS

Using a fixed effects approach to account for all time-invariant and important time-varying confounders, we analyze the Polish Panel Survey which has been collecting data on participants' social mobility perceptions along with information on their self-reported physical health and psychological wellbeing.

RESULTS

We find that perceived social mobility is a significant predictor of self-reported physical health and psychological wellbeing, even in models that adjust for a host of theoretically relevant control variables. The results demonstrate that upward subjective mobility has a consistent and strong positive effect on health outcomes. The effect of perceived social mobility is stronger for males and for those with less advantageous social origins.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings are in line with the "from rags to riches" theoretical perspective, emphasizing the positive implications of upward social mobility on health through various psychological mechanisms. Based on our findings, we call for greater scholarly attention to subjective aspects of social mobility in research on health outcomes.

Equality of opportunity and health in post-COVID world

Links between equality of opportunity and health in post-COVID world must be an issue of general interest to academic, health, and policy audiences in the developed countries and other parts of the world. We already know that COVID-19 disproportionally affects most vulnerable and marginalised groups, while their positions in social hierarchy are strongly shaped by intergenerational transmission of advantages and disadvantages. Further, recent evidence from the United States and Europe also suggests that inequality of opportunity has significant negative consequences for health. This correspondence end with a call that decision makers, while rebuilding the post-COVID social model, should remember that equality of opportunity is not only fair but it is also good for health.

Intergenerational social mobility and health in Russia: Mind over matter?

The consequences of changing one's socio-economic status over the life course-i.e. social mobility-for individual health are not well understood. Theories of the health implications of social mobility draw on the human perception of one's changing conditions, but empirical studies mostly examine the health implications of moving from objectively defined indicators of parental socio-economic position such as education, occupation, or income, to own socio-economic position in adult life. Little is known about the consequences of individuals' own assessment of changes in socio-economic position for health outcomes. In this study, we examine the association of social mobility and health in a unique sample of the Russian population after the transition to a market society. We take a broad perspective on social mobility, putting emphasis on subjectively perceived social mobility. Results show that individuals' objective characteristics only partially explain the variation in their subjective perceptions of intergenerational mobility. Net of social origin and destination variables, subjective social mobility is associated with individuals' health outcomes, as measured by the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey. Those who perceive being upwardly mobile report better health, and downward mobility is associated with poorer health. The association holds for mental and physical health, for perceived downward and upward social mobility, and for a general subjective measure of mobility and a subjective measure prompting respondents to only think of mobility in terms of occupation. These findings are robust to controlling for a rich set of socio-demographic predictors on childhood adversity, contemporaneous material wellbeing, and family-related circumstances. We conclude that a conventional focus on single socio-economic status dimensions such as occupation might be too narrow to capture the health consequences of social mobility.