Shaping Health Behavior across Generations: Evidence from Time Use data in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its...

This paper examines ways that families use time to shape their children's health behaviors. Specifically, it explores ways that parents can prepare children to make health-enhancing choices as adults. It also analyzes ways that offspring manage their time during young adulthood, when they are old enough to make independent decisions about whether they will spend their time producing health, as the Grossman model argues that individuals can do (Grossman 2000). The empirical research uses time diary data from the Child Development Supplement CDS), data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) core and the PSID's Transition to Adulthood (TA) module. By examining the intergenerational transmission of healthy behaviors, it is possible to better understand decisions individuals make in adulthood.