Dataset Information

Benefits of educational attainment on adult fluid cognition: international evidence from three birth cohorts.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Educational attainment is highly correlated with social inequalities in adult cognitive health; however, the nature of this correlation is in dispute. Recently, researchers have argued that educational inequalities are an artefact of selection by individual differences in prior cognitive ability, which both drives educational attainment and tracks across the rest of the life course. Although few would deny that educational attainment is at least partly determined by prior cognitive ability, a complementary, yet controversial, view is that education has a direct causal and lasting benefit on cognitive development.

Methods

We use observational data from three birth cohorts, with cognition measured in adolescence and adulthood. Ordinary least squares regression was used to model the relationship between adolescent cognition and adult fluid cognition and to test the sensitivity of our analyses to sample selection, projection and backdoor biases using propensity score matching.

Results

We find that having a university education is correlated with higher fluid cognition in adulthood, after adjustment for adolescent cognition. We do not find that adolescent cognition, gender or parental social class consistently modify this effect; however, women benefited more in the 1946 sample from Great Britain.

Conclusions

In all three birth cohorts, substantial educational benefit remained after adjustment for adolescent cognition and parental social class, offsetting an effect equivalent of 0.5 to 1.5 standard deviations lower adolescent cognition. We also find that the likelihood of earning a university degree depends in part on adolescent cognition, gender and parental social class. We conclude that inequalities in adult cognition derive in part from educational experiences after adolescence.

SUBMITTER: Clouston SA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3535750 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Benefits of educational attainment on adult fluid cognition: international evidence from three birth cohorts.

Clouston Sean A P SA Kuh Diana D Herd Pamela P Elliott Jane J Richards Marcus M Hofer Scott M SM

International journal of epidemiology 20121028 6

<h4>Background</h4>Educational attainment is highly correlated with social inequalities in adult cognitive health; however, the nature of this correlation is in dispute. Recently, researchers have argued that educational inequalities are an artefact of selection by individual differences in prior cognitive ability, which both drives educational attainment and tracks across the rest of the life course. Although few would deny that educational attainment is at least partly determined by prior cogn ...[more]

PMID: 23108707

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Project description:BackgroundSince its independence in 1945, Indonesia has undergone rapid socioeconomic development. The fastest changes occurred in Java, which is the main island where more than half of the Indonesian population lives.ObjectiveThis study aimed to analyze the secular trend in the height of adults living in Java born between 1953 and 1995 by comparing their residence (rural, small city, or large city) and considering factors that contribute to adult height.MethodsThe analysis used the following data: birth year, body height, weight, body mass index, sex, educational attainment, share of household food expenditures, and residence of 20- to 40-year-old men and women collected by the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) waves 1 to 5. Multiple linear regression was conducted to analyze several factors that influence adult height. Significance was set at p < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval (CI).ResultsThe study included 30,656 measurements of individuals born between 1953 and 1995 (54.9% female). Positive secular trends (95% CI) were observed for men and women: 1.3 (1.1-1.4) cm and 0.9 (0.8-1.0) cm per decade, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that, in addition to the year of birth, the adult height of both males and females was independently associated with level of education and share of household food expenditure. Stratifying the data into residence in rural areas, small cities, and large cities showed that education levels influenced the adult height of men and women living in all regions, whereas the influence of birth year and share of household food expenditure differed between areas and genders.ConclusionsWe observed positive secular trends in the height of adults living in Java who were born between 1953 and 1995. The birth year, educational attainment, and share of household food expenditure significantly influenced adult height. A higher education level was consistently associated with taller adult height in both men and women living in rural areas, small cities, and large cities.

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Dataset Information

Benefits of educational attainment on adult fluid cognition: international evidence from three birth cohorts.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Benefits of educational attainment on adult fluid cognition: international evidence from three birth cohorts.

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