Childhood Health during the Educational Process and Its Consequences for Adult Socioeconomic Attainment: The Case of Great Britain

I study the case of Great Britain in the mid twentieth century, when a rigid educational structure forced students to encounter consequential tracking points at ages 11 and 16, to examine whether the experience of a health problem at points before each of these two transitions increases the likelihood that children will end up in less rigorous educational tracks, that in turn influence socioeconomic success in adulthood. Data are from the National Child Development Study, a study of a British cohort born in 1958. Findings show that poor health is negatively associated with adult occupational and educational attainment at points before the beginning of school, before the first tracking decision, and before the second tracking decision. These relationships are often particularly strong for cohort members who experience health problems across multiple ages during childhood. Secondly, educational tracking and performance play a significant role in explaining associations between school-age health and adult attainment. Exam performance, school type and educational expectations at the first transition point, age 11, are especially important in accounting for differences in predicated attainment. The size of the predicted gaps in socioeconomic attainment by childhood health are similar to the size of predicted gaps by variables known to play a crucial role in processes of inequality and stratification. The findings therefore emphasize the need to consider the role of early-life health in transmitting inequality across generations.