Health consequences of social mobility : longitudinal impacts of social mobility on cognitive, mental and physical health

Abstract

Researchers have a longstanding interest in understanding the health consequences of social mobility, yet theoretical and methodological questions remain. At least six competing hypotheses offer alternative explanations of how social mobility affects health, and there has been limited effort to explain whether and how the impact of mobility varies across different aspects of health, social mobility indicators, types of social mobility, and demographic groups. Methodologically, longstanding statistical challenges in disentangling the mobility effect (i.e., social mobility experience) from the position effect (i.e., parental and personal social status) have hindered empirical studies in examining the net impact of social mobility on health.

By integrating the growth mixture model (GMM) and the mobility contrast model (MCM), this thesis employed a novel approach to examine the impact of various types of social mobility on cognitive, mental, and physical health trajectories in the Chinese context. It also investigated how these effects varied across gender and cohort groups. The thesis began with a systematic review that synthesized global evidence regarding the effects of social mobility on health. Mixed findings underscored the need to produce comprehensive and comparable evidence.

Study 1 examined the impact of intergenerational educational mobility on cognitive, mental, and physical health trajectories. The findings highlighted the negative impact of upward and downward intergenerational educational mobility on cognitive function, supporting the idea of a wear-and-tear effect of intergenerational educational mobility on cognitive health.

Study 2 explored the impact of intergenerational occupational mobility on three health trajectories. The varying impacts of intergenerational occupational and educational mobility on cognitive function suggested that different social mobility indicators have distinct effects on health. Further, pronounced mobility effects among men and members of the younger cohort showed the importance of considering socioeconomic contextual factors, such as social mobility opportunities, when explaining group variations.

Study 3 investigated the impact of intragenerational occupational mobility on three health trajectories. Positive effects of upward mobility and negative effects of downward mobility on all three health outcomes indicated that social mobility effects are likely tied to personal success and failure. Different patterns of findings between inter- and intra-generational mobility suggested that distinct mechanisms underlie the impact of each type of mobility.

Study 4 examined the effect of perceived social mobility at the community level on three health trajectories. A positive effect of upward mobility on mental health indicated the importance of perceived social mobility in the local environment for mental health. The results suggested that perceived social mobility only affected mental health.

In summary, this thesis provides comparable evidence on the impact of social mobility on health. It addresses contentious hypotheses in the field and contributes to an updated research framework that can offer a more nuanced understanding of how different types of social mobility affect various aspects of health among different demographic groups. Its integration of GMM and MCM statistical approaches creates possibilities for future studies to examine the long-term impacts of social mobility in moderate- and large-scale mobility contexts using longitudinal designs.