Family, Education, and More Preventable Health Conditions in Midlife

This dissertation examines the relationship between family social conditions in high school and the risk of more preventable conditions in midlife. Social inequalities in mortality and morbidity are widest for more preventable conditions. Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students from 1980 through 2021, I identify how families and educational experiences are associated with mortality and morbidity outcomes at age 60. First, I estimate the relationship between family background, education, and more preventable mortality in midlife. I then examine the relationship between family background and physical and cardiometabolic conditions. Finally, I describe how family background and education shape regional disparities in more preventable conditions. Across these studies, I find that parents’ education is associated with more preventable conditions. This association, however, is attenuated by educational experiences in high school and educational attainment in adulthood. Furthermore, high school educational characteristics and outcomes are associated with more preventable conditions, regardless of degree attainment. I do not observe racial differences in the effects of family background, schooling, and education on more preventable conditions. The findings of this dissertation suggest that schools and education processes transmit advantages from parents to children, but they also might be able to compensate for early life disadvantages. Family and education both play a role in predicting more preventable mortality and morbidity in midlife.