scholarly journals Is adolescent multiple risk behaviour associated with reduced socioeconomic status in young adulthood and do those with low socioeconomic backgrounds experience greater negative impact? Findings from two UK birth cohort studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Tinner ◽  
Caroline Wright ◽  
Jon Heron ◽  
Deborah Caldwell ◽  
Rona Campbell ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Adolescent multiple risk behaviour (MRB) is associated with negative outcomes such as police arrests, unemployment and premature mortality and morbidity. What is unknown is whether MRB is associated with socioeconomic status (SES) in adulthood. We test whether adolescent MRB is associated with socioeconomic status (SES) in young adulthood and whether it is moderated by early life SES variables. Methods Prospective cohort studies; British Cohort Study 1970 (BCS70) and Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), born in 1991–1992, were used and two comparable MRB variables were derived. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between MRB and young adult SES. The moderating effect of three early life SES variables was assessed using logistic regression models with and without interaction parameters. Evidence to support the presence of moderation was determined by likelihood ratio tests ≤p = 0.05. Multiple imputation was used to account for missing data. Results Adolescents had a median of two risk behaviours in BCS70 and three in ALSPAC. Adolescent MRB was negatively associated with young adult SES (university degree attainment) in BCS70 (OR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.76, 0.86) and ALSPAC (OR 0.85, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.88). There was a dose response relationship, with each additional risk behaviour resulting in reduced odds of university degree attainment. MRB was associated occupational status at age 34 in BCS70 (OR 0.86 95% CI: 0.82, 0.90). In BCS70, there was evidence that maternal education (p = 0.03), parental occupational status (p = 0.009) and household income (p = 0.03) moderated the effect of adolescent MRB on young adult SES in that the negative effect of MRB is stronger for those with low socioeconomic backgrounds. No evidence of moderation was found in the ALSPAC cohort. Conclusions Adolescence appears to be a critical time in the life course to address risk behaviours, due to the likelihood that behaviours established here may have effects in adulthood. Intervening on adolescent MRB could improve later SES outcomes and thus affect health outcomes later in life. Evidence for a moderation effect in the BCS70 but not ALSPAC suggests that more detailed measures should be investigated to capture the nuance of contemporary young adult SES.

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Tinner ◽  
C Wright ◽  
J Heron ◽  
D Caldwell ◽  
R Campbell ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Multiple risk behaviour (MRB) means the occurrence of two or more risk behaviours and is associated with a range of negative outcomes. What is unknown is whether MRB is associated with socioeconomic status (SES) in adulthood. This study aimed to examine the association between adolescent MRB and young adult SES and whether those who experienced early life socioeconomic disadvantage also faced greater negative impact of adolescent MRB. Methods Two prospective birth cohort studies; British Cohort Study 1970 (BCS70) and Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), born in 1991-1992, were used. Logistic regression assessed the association between MRB and young adult SES. Three early life SES variables were examined for their moderating effect on the association using models with and without interaction parameters. Likelihood ratio tests ≤p=0.05 indicated evidence to support moderation. Multiple imputation was used to account for missing data. Results Adolescent MRB was negatively associated with young adult SES (university degree attainment) in BCS70 (OR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.76, 0.86) and ALSPAC (OR 0.85, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.88). There was a dose response, with each additional risk behaviour resulting in reduced odds of university degree attainment. In BCS70, maternal education (p = 0.03), parental occupation (p = 0.009) and household income (p = 0.03) moderated the effect of adolescent MRB on young adult SES. The effect of MRB on university degree attainment was stronger for those from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds. No evidence of moderation was found in ALSPAC. Conclusions Adolescence is a critical time to address MRB as behaviours established here may have effects in adulthood. Intervening on adolescent MRB may improve later SES and thus health outcomes later in life. Evidence for a moderation effect in the BCS70 but not ALSPAC suggests that measures should be investigated for their ability to capture the nuance of contemporary young adult SES. Key messages Intervening on adolescent multiple risk behaviour could improve socioeconomic life chances in young adulthood. Variables that capture the nuance of contemporary young adult socioeconomic status should be explored.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S826-S826
Author(s):  
Chioun Lee ◽  
Jennifer Coons ◽  
Lexi Harari

Abstract Early life adversity has severe consequences for adult biological health particularly in minority group individuals. Two ways in which it may be possible to reduce these negative consequences on adult health are individual differences in perceived discrimination due to early life adversities and learning internal skills (i.e. anger control) to help cope with early life adversities and perceived discrimination. The current study utilized 2,118 participants (55% female) from the MIDUS Projects. Early life adversities included three constructs: low socioeconomic status, family instability, and abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional). The best-fitting model from the latent class analyses revealed four distinct groups: 1) no early life adversities group, 2) low socioeconomic status only group, 3) low socioeconomic status and family instability group, and 4) all three early life adversities group. Minority groups were more likely to reside in the all three early life adversities group. Perceived discrimination was measured via two pathways: lifetime discrimination and daily discrimination. Anger control (one measure of an internal skill one learns to cope with early life adversities and perceived discrimination) was assessed with an anger-control scale. Inflammation markers were used as an indicator of biological health. Experiencing more early life adversities was related to greater inflammation and this relationship was partially explained via the pathway of greater early life adversities, greater perceived lifetime/daily discrimination, worse anger control, and greater inflammation. The findings support the need for a more holistic measure of early life adversities as it has a clear impact on adult inflammation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Jokela ◽  
Thomas E Fuller-Rowell

Individuals with low socioeconomic status have a higher risk of experiencing daily discrimination, that is, receiving unfair and disrespectful treatment from others. Social trends in economic inequality suggest that the life circumstances of individuals with low socioeconomic status have not improved with the same rate as those with high socioeconomic status. We examined whether the prevalence of class discrimination in the United States has changed in the last two decades. Data were from the original Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study with data collections in 1995-1996 (n=2,931) and 2004-2005 (n=1,708), and the new MIDUS Refresher sample from 2011-2014 (n=2,543). Socioeconomic status was assessed with education, occupational status, income, and self-reported financial situation. Daily discrimination experiences were assessed with the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Socioeconomic status became more strongly associated with discrimination experiences over time: at the 1995-1996 baseline assessment, the difference in daily discrimination between the highest and lowest SES groups was 15.3% vs. 10.8% (4.7 percentage point difference). This difference increased to 20.0% vs. 7.4% difference in 2011-2014 (12.6 percentage point difference). Perceived discrimination was associated with psychological distress similarly over time and across levels of socioeconomic status. The results suggest that people with low socioeconomic status have a higher risk of encountering unfair and disrespectful treatment from others in the 2010s compared to the 1990s.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document