Parental health related to college diploma

Washington [US], July 17 (ANI): Sociological researchers at the University of Buffalo suggest that an adult child’s education level affects the mental and physical health of parents.

Their findings were recently published in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences.

Take note of the benefits of getting a college degree. Perhaps all of the items on the completed list are relevant to graduates: higher wages, self-employment, and better access to health care.

All of these factors, supported by extensive research, help draw a direct line between higher education and health. Similar studies suggest how parenting education affects children.

Currently, two sociologists at the University of Buffalo are using a wave of new data from a survey initiated in 1994 to show another aspect of the intergenerational impact of obtaining a college degree: education and health. We have further expanded the geometry that connects the.

“By analyzing this data, we came to the conclusion that if a child does not graduate from college, it harms the parents’ self-reported health and depressive symptoms,” said UB College of Arts Sociology and Sciences. said Associate Professor Dr Christopher Denison. , And co-author of a treatise with Dr Kristen Schultz Lee, associate professor of sociology and colleague at UB. “Our parents’ negative mental health outcomes were, in fact, our strongest finding. Denison and Lee both conducted a national longitudinal study of adolescent and adult health (additional health) in a previous study. I used it. Add Health is a nationally representative longitudinal study of over 20,000 adolescents.

This is the largest survey of its kind. When the survey began, there was a wave of initial data on parents (aged 30-60) and another data of about 2,000 of their former participants (currently aged 50-80) in 2015. -17. The waves have been collected.

This latest set of data offers researchers the opportunity to study the relationships between generations of parents and children over time, while statistically balancing factors that may affect the health of older parents. did.

“These findings are particularly important given the worsening educational inequalities in the United States over the past decades,” says Lee. “We know how our own education affects our own health. We know how parenting education affects children in various ways. I am currently trying to deepen my understanding by explaining how childrearing can affect parents. “” I am particularly interested in these results. What I found interesting is that parents least likely to have children (low socioeconomic status) seem to benefit the most from children who graduate from college. Lee guesses. About many factors that could be causing this association, such as anxiety, support, and lifestyle.

“Parents of poorly educated children can spend a lot of time worrying about their children, which negatively impacts their mental health and self-rated health. Lee said. “Children without a diploma may need more help from their parents, nor can they provide much needed help in return.

“Another possibility is that educated children may be better at helping parents lead healthier lives by encouraging exercise and healthy eating. What is clear is the evidence for how the benefits of a college degree show up on the health of parents. In the following years.

“At a time when college degrees become more and more important, how long-term investment in education can benefit the health of adult children and can benefit parents in the future. I understand, ”Denison said.

And from a political point of view, it is this investment mindset that explains how the achievement of education is achieved across generations.

“Historically, there has been a debate about whether different generations are at odds with each other, and one generation steals resources from another older or younger generation,” says Lee. “But our results show the fundamentally interrelated nature of the interests and needs of different generations. In this case, investing in one generation brings positive benefits to another. I go. “(ANI)