Summary

Children of parents with low socioeconomic status do less well in school and are at risk of drop-out, low education, unemployment, and social exclusion. It is not adequately understood why social differences reproduce.

Abstract:

Children of parents with low socioeconomic status do less well in school and are at risk of drop-out, low education, unemployment, and social exclusion. It is not adequately understood why social differences reproduce. There is a close relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health that signals that mental health could be a key to understand reproduction of social differences and mobility. Our aim is to understand the role of mental health in the reproduction of socioeconomic differences.

Family members resemble each other with regard to both socioeconomic status and mental health. The intergenerational associations can be due to genetic or environmental factors shared by parents and children, or direct influences between parents and offspring. We will therefore investigate how the relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health unfolds in a new generation, and how children’s school performance are shaped by their parental background and by their own, unique mental development. We study school performance among children and adolescents because it is an important and early observable determinant of later socioeconomic status. Since partners have a tendency to have similar educational levels, some children experience risk factors in 'double doses'. We will therefore investigate whether and how partner choices have consequences for social differences in mental health.

We utilize survey and genetic data from The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study and register data on health, demography and school performance. We will use administrative register data from the entire population of Norway. Using several research methods allow us to draw firmer conclusions if the results point in the same direction. Hopefully, we will identify modifiable risk factors that can be targeted in future interventions aimed at reducing social reproduction and improving mental health.

See the full project description at Cristin for more information about results, researchers, contact information etc.

Project participants

Project leader

Fartein Ask Torvik, Senter for fruktbarhet og helse, Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Project participants

Hans Fredrik Sunde, Senter for fruktbarhet og helse, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Magnus Nordmo, Senter for fruktbarhet og helse, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Wendy Nilsen, Work Research Institute, Oslomet - Oslo Metropolitan University
Eivind Ystrøm, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo
Kristin Gustavson, Avdeling for psykiske lidelser, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Espen Moen Eilertsen, Senter for fruktbarhet og helse, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Helga Ask, Avdeling for psykiske lidelser, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Ragnhild Eek Brandlistuen, Avdeling for barns helse og utvikling, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Martin Flatø, Senter for fruktbarhet og helse, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Camilla Stoltenberg, Norwegian Institute of Public Health