Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-grxwn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-05T07:56:03.366Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF NORWEGIAN MEN: INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL AND EARLY INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2009

PETTER KRISTENSEN ,
HANS M. GRAVSETH  and
TOR BJERKEDAL
PETTER KRISTENSEN
Affiliation:
National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo, Norway Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway
HANS M. GRAVSETH
Affiliation:
National Institute of Occupational Health, Oslo, Norway
TOR BJERKEDAL
Affiliation:
Institute of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway Norwegian Armed Forces Medical Services, Institute of Epidemiology, Oslo, Norway
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The life course perspective in social inequalities in health research has resulted in an increased interest in status attainment processes. Adult status is commonly measured as occupational class, income level or educational attainment, and the latter was applied in this study. The study objective was to estimate the relative contribution of parental and early individual characteristics on educational attainment. The study population comprised all males born in Norway in 1967–1971, and alive at age 28 years (n=160,914). Data on social and biological variables were compiled from birth onwards in several national registers. Information on educational attainment at age 28 years was derived from Statistics Norway. Mean years of education was 12.62 years (SD 2.24). Educational attainment was strongly associated with general ability score at age 18 years and parental educational attainment. Parental income had more limited influence; all other early factors had only marginal effect. Path analysis results suggest that the direct effect of general ability was of the same size as the combined direct and indirect effect of parental education and income. The results suggest that status attainment in this young male population is mainly dependent on general ability and parental education level.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 41 , Issue 6 , November 2009 , pp. 799 - 814
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aakvik, A., Salvanes, K. G. & Vaage, K. (2005) Educational attainment and family background. German Economic Review 6(3), 377–394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baron, R. M. & Kenny, D. A. (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51(6), 1173–1182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ben-Shlomo, Y. & Kuh, D. (2002) A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology: conceptual models, empirical challenges and interdisciplinary perspectives. International Journal of Epidemiology 31, 285–293.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bjerkedal, T. & Kristensen, P. (2007) Live born in Norway 1967–76 with the diagnosis of Down syndrome [In Norwegian, English summary]. Norwegian Journal of Epidemiology 17(2), 157–164. Available at: http://www.ub.ntnu.no/journals/norepid/2007-2/2007(2)17-Bjerkedal.pdf (accessed 26th May 2009).Google Scholar
Black, S. E., Devereux, P. J. & Salvanes, K. G. (2005) Why the apple doesn't fall far: understanding intergenerational transmission of human capital. American Economic Review 95(1), 437–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blane, D., Davey Smith, G. & Bartley, M. (1993) Social selection: what does it contribute to social class differences in health? Sociology of Health and Illness 15, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, R. & Saunders, P. (1999) Routes of success: influences on the occupational attainment of young British males. British Journal of Sociology 50, 217–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bosma, H. (2006) Socio-economic differences in health: are control beliefs fundamental mediators? In Siegrist, J. & Marmot, M. (eds) Social Inequalities in Health: New Evidence and Policy Implications. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 153–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowles, S. & Gintis, H. (2002) Schooling in capitalist America revisited. Sociology of Education 75(1), 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breen, R. & Goldthorpe, J. H. (1999) Class inequality and meritocracy: a critique of Saunders and an alternative analysis. British Journal of Sociology 50, 1–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breen, R. & Goldthorpe, J. H. (2001) Class, mobility and merit: the experience of two British birth cohorts. European Sociological Review 17(2), 81–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breen, R. & Goldthorpe, J. H. (2002) Merit, mobility and method: another reply to Saunders. British Journal of Sociology 53, 575–582.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Breen, R. & Jonsson, J. O. (2005) Inequality of opportunity in comparative perspective: recent research on educational attainment and social mobility. Annual Review of Sociology 31, 223–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Stavola, B. L., Nitsch, D., dos Santos Silva, I., McCormack, V., Hardy, R., Mann, V., Cole, T. J., Morton, S. & Leon, D. A. (2006) Statistical issues in life course epidemiology. American Journal of Epidemiology 163(1), 84–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deary, I. J., Taylor, M. D., Hart, C. L., Wilson, V., Davey Smith, G., Blane, D. & Starr, J. M. (2005) Intergenerational social mobility and mid-life status attainment: influences of childhood intelligence, childhood social factors, and education. Intelligence 33, 455–472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heath, A. C., Berg, K., Eaves, L. J., Solaas, M. H., Corey, L. A., Sundet, J., Magnus, P. & Nance, W. E. (1985) Education policy and the heritability of educational attainment. Nature 314, 734–736.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hega, G. M. & Hokenmaier, K. G. (2002) The welfare state and education: a comparison of social and educational policy in advanced industrial societies. Politikfeldanalyse/German Policy Studies 2(1), 1–29.Google Scholar
Hernstein, R. J. & Murray, C. (1994) The Bell Curve. Free Press, New York.Google Scholar
Judge, T. A., Higgins, C. A., Thoresen, C. J. & Barrick, M. R. (1999) The big five personality traits, general mental ability, and career success across the life span. Personnel Psychology 52, 621–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufman, J. S. (2008) Social epidemiology. In Rothman, K. J., Greenland, S. & Lash, T. L. (eds) Modern Epidemiology. Third edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, pp. 532–548.Google Scholar
Kristensen, P., Bjerkedal, T. & Irgens, L. M. (2007) Early life determinants of musculoskeletal sickness absence in a cohort of Norwegians born in 1967–1976. Social Science and Medicine 64, 646–655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuh, D. & Ben-Shlomo, Y. (eds) (2004) A Life Course Approach to Chronic Disease Epidemiology. Second edition. Oxford University Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kuh, D., Ben-Shlomo, B., Lynch, J., Hallqvist, J. & Power, C. (2003) Life course epidemiology. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 57, 778–783.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindbekk, T. (1998) The education backlash hypothesis: the Norwegian experience 1960–92. Acta Sociologica 41, 151–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mackenbach, J. P. (2005) Genetics and health inequalities: hypotheses and controversies. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 59, 268–273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marks, G. N. & McMillan, J. (2003) Declining inequality? The changing impact of socio-economic background and ability on education in Australia. British Journal of Sociology 54, 453–471.Google ScholarPubMed
Mascie-Taylor, C. G. N. & Gibson, J. B. (1978) Social mobility and IQ components. Journal of Biosocial Science 10(3), 263–276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nettle, D. (2003) Intelligence and class mobility in the British population. British Journal of Psychology 94, 551–561.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nielsen, F. (2006) Achievement and ascription in educational attainment: genetic and environmental influences on adolescent schooling. Social Forces 85, 193–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Power, C. & Kuh, D. (2006) Life course development of unequal health. In Siegrist, J. & Marmot, M. (eds) Social Inequalities in Health: New Evidence and Policy Implications. Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 27–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, M. & Sacker, A. (2003) Lifetime antecedents of cognitive reserve. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 25(5), 614–624.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saunders, P. (2002) Reflections on the meritocracy debate in Britain: a response to Richard Breen and John Goldthorpe. British Journal of Sociology 53, 559–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistics Norway (2003) Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (Revised 2000). Statistics Norway, Oslo-Kongsvinger.Google Scholar
Sundet, J. M., Barlaug, D. G. & Torjussen, T. M. (2004) The end of the Flynn effect? A study of secular trends in mean intelligence test scores of Norwegian conscripts during half a century. Intelligence 32, 349–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tambs, K., Sundet, J. M., Magnus, P. & Berg, K. (1989) Genetic and environmental contributions to the covariance between occupational status, educational attainment and IQ: a study of twins. Behavior Genetics 19, 209–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thienpont, K. & Verleye, G. (2003) Cognitive ability and occupational status in a British cohort. Journal of Biosocial Science 36, 333–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, P. & Davidson, N. (1982) Inequalities in Health: The Black Report and the Health Divide. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth.Google Scholar
Wang, L-Y., Kick, E., Fraser, J. & Burns, T. J. (1999) Status attainment in America: the roles of locus of control and self-esteem in educational and occupational outcomes. Sociological Spectrum 19, 281–298.Google Scholar
West, P. (1991) Rethinking the health selection explanation for health inequalities. Social Science and Medicine 32, 373–384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Xu, J. (2008) Sibship size and educational achievement: the role of welfare regimes cross-nationally. Comparative Education Review 52(3), 413–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar