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Intergenerational social mobility and allostatic load in Great Britain
Patrick Präg1, Lindsay Richards2
1Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
|November 3, 2018
Summary
Social mobility does not negatively impact health, measured by allostatic load (AL). Both parental and own socioeconomic status significantly influence AL, but the process of social mobility itself does not harm health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Biomedical Science
Background:
- Intergenerational social mobility is theorized to be a stressor impacting health.
- This study investigates the link between socioeconomic position across generations and health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that social mobility negatively affects health.
- To examine the relationship between parental socioeconomic position, own socioeconomic position, and allostatic load (AL).
Main Methods:
- Utilized cross-sectional data from 9851 adult participants in the Understanding Society study.
- Employed diagonal reference models to analyze parental and own social class effects on AL.
- AL was measured using 11 biomarkers including cholesterol, blood pressure, and BMI.
Main Results:
- Allostatic load (AL) was highest in the stable working class and lowest in the stable upper class.
- Parental and current social class had comparable influences on AL.
- Social mobility, whether upward or downward, did not demonstrate a detrimental effect on AL.
Conclusions:
- Both current and parental social class significantly impact AL.
- Mobility trajectories were not found to have any significant effect, positive or negative, on AL.
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