Intergenerational transmission of health and the role played by early life adversities

In recent decades, a large and multi-disciplinary literature on intergenerational mobility has emerged, primarily motivated by concerns over equality of opportunity. Most of the studies have focused on income
(Landersø & Heckman 2017, Chetty et al. 2014, Björklund & Jäntti 2012, Solon 1992), wealth (Boserup et al. 2016), education and occupation (Long & Ferrie 2007, 2013, Torche 2015). However, one key component of socioeconomic status has largely been understudied: health. Three main reasons make the study of intergenerational health mobility a challenging task (Halliday et al. 2020, Graeber 2023). First, health is a latent variable, thus, by its nature it is difficult to measure. Second, it requires panel data containing health measures for two generations. Third, the data needed to provide extensive and broad-based measures of health, that are not always easy to survey. Nevertheless, understanding intergenerational transmission of health is particularly relevant for several reasons. First, health is a primary factor in determining human well-being and subsequent inequality (Grossman 2017); poor health during childhood affects educational attainment and is associated with lower levels of adult health (Vera-Toscano, 2022; Case, 2005; Haas, 2008; Blackweel, 2001; Hayward, 2004). Second, it is known that childhood health impacts a variety of adult outcomes (Bencsik 2021; Case et al., 2005); for instance, health determines the way in which adult individuals contribute to the labor market: health shocks lead to unemployment and lower income and
can induce retirement (Gupta et al. 2015, Garcia et al 2013). Moreover, there are studies showing how health at later ages determines decisions regarding retirement, consumption and savings (Rust and Phelan, 1997; Palumbo, 1999; French and Jones, 2017). Finally, good health over the life course, together with a strong public health system that supports preventive care and an equitable distribution of resources for the population, is decisive in contrasting the negative impact of infections such as the recent coronavirus pandemic (OECD 2020). The strong association between health and economic status, in conjunction with intergenerational health transmission has potentially important implications. This study will contribute to the literature on intergenerational transmission of health.
We aim to analyse the intergenerational transmission of health from one generation to the next. Two research questions are addressed: How does parents’ mental and physical health impact children’s health? How does early life disadvantage contribute to the transmission of health from parents to offspring?
Born in Bradford survey would give us the opportunity to investigate health persistence across generations. It allows us to address the three challenges that characterize the study of intergenerational health mobility: linked data on parents and children, capturing health as latent variable and a rich set of health measures. First, the Born in Bradford survey is a panel survey that connects parents and their children and follows both generations over time. Second, BiB survey as a rich set of health indicators and a transversal look at health, which is important to capture health as a latent variable. Third, the BiB survey rich set of health measures for both parents and offspring, such as anthropometric measures, general health and mental health measures, lifestyle and health-related behaviors. More in detail, as regards the anthropometric measures, BiB survey includes parental height and weight measured at different points in time, baby’s weight and length measured at different points in time and whether mother and baby are overweight. Furthermore, BiB includes indicators of general health and lifestyle, such as the mother and baby’s general health (measured at different points in time), childhood illnesses and a question about how the mother felt over the last 30 days (a proxy for mental health), whether the mother smoked or drank during pregnancy or after the baby was born, and whether the baby was exposed to smoke represent other valuable health measures, which would be important to include in our analysis.
Moreover, the Born in Bradford study collects a variety of information on the socioeconomic status of parents, family lifestyle, and neighborhood characteristics which would enable us to investigate the role of early life disadvantage, and understand the mechanisms through which health is passed from parents to offspring.
BiB collects information on parental education and occupational status at different points in time; whether parents belong to ethnic minorities, household composition and marital status are surveyed. This information is relevant since the existing literature on early life disadvantage reports that low educational attainment and parental unemployment negatively affect childhood health (Vera-Toscano and Brown, 2022; Wu et al., 2024). Moreover, single parenthood and belonging to ethnic minorities represent other risk factors for developing poor health (Fletcher et al., 2021; Halliday et al., 2021). Lastly, the BiB survey data on parents and offspring lifestyle, namely the physical activity, time spent by children watching TV and whether there are playgrounds in the neighborhood. This activities are identified in the literature as important factors influencing offspring’s health development (Thompson et al., 2014; Eley et al., 2015).
In conclusion, BiB data should have the necessary information for us to analyse the two research questions described above.