Could teacher-perceived parental interest be an important factor in understanding how education relates to later physiological health? A life course approach

Abstract

Education is associated with later health, and notably with an indicator of physiological health measuring the cost of adapting to stressful conditions, named allostatic load. Education is itself the result of a number of upstream variables. We examined the origins of educational attainment through the lens of interactions between families and school i.e. parents’ interest in their child’s education as perceived by teachers. This study aims to examine whether parental interest during a child’s educational trajectory is associated with subsequent allostatic load, and whether education or other pathways mediate this relationship. We used data from 9 377 women and men born in 1958 in Great Britain and included in the National Child Development Study to conduct secondary data analyses. Parental interest was measured from questionnaire responses by teachers collected at age 7, 11 and 16. Allostatic load was defined using 14 biomarkers assayed in blood from a biosample collected at 44 years of age. Linear regression analyses were carried out on a sample of 8 113 participants with complete data for allostatic load, missing data were imputed. Participants whose parents were considered to be uninterested in their education by their teacher had a higher allostatic load on average in midlife in both men (β = 0,41 [0,29; 0,54]) and women (β = 0,69 [0,54; 0,83]). We examined the role of the educational and other pathways including psychosocial, material/financial, and behavioral variables, as potential mediators in the relationship between parental interest and allostatic load. The direct link between parental interest and allostatic load was completely mediated in men, but only partially mediated in women. This work provides evidence that parents’ interest in their child’s education as perceived by teachers is associated with subsequent physiological health in mid-life and may highlight a form of cultural dissonance between family and educational spheres.

The level of education is associated with an anxiety-depressive state among men and women – findings from France during the first quarter of the Covid-19 pandemic

“…The relationship between educational categories (no diploma for men and baccalaureate, vocational certi cate/quali cation and no diploma for women) and anxiety-depressive score was not fully explained. This persistent association may be explained by earlier or dynamic processes in individuals' lives corresponding to early factors hidden by education (31,53). Differences observed between men and women, with a steeper gradient for women, point to social inequalities in health that may be related to a gender effect (54) previously highlighted in this study population (55).…”

The level of education is associated with an anxiety-depressive state among men and women – findings from France during the first quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The relationship between educational categories (no diploma for men and baccalaureate, vocational certificate/qualification and no diploma for women) and anxiety-depressive score was not fully explained. This persistent association may be explained by earlier or dynamic processes in individuals' lives corresponding to early factors hidden by education [29,51]. This may be also explained by a low sense of personal control [19] or challenges in health-related knowledge or health literacy [52], affecting the ability to cope with stress and adopt coping behaviours.…”

Measuring education in the context of health inequalities

“…In several studies, parental interest in their child’s education has been reported as an upstream determinant of education having lasting effects on health. 38 , 39 Moreover, the socio-economic mix of schools and the educational expectations within schools may influence social class differences in educational achievement. 40 Thus, apart from studies focusing on education at individual or interpersonal levels, further research focusing on education at system/organization or community levels is needed.…”