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Adult Children’s Education and Physiological Dysregulation Among Older Parents

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  • Chioun Lee

Abstract

Objectives Despite growing awareness that children’s education benefits the health of older parents, the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are not well-understood. We investigated (a) the associations between children’s education and biological functioning of parents, (b) psychosocial and behavioral factors that explain the associations, and (c) gendered patterns in the associations.MethodsUsing longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of older Taiwanese, we performed mediation analysis of the association between adult children’s education and physiological dysregulation of their parents.ResultsOffspring’s schooling is inversely associated with parental inflammation after controlling for parental socioeconomic status and baseline health. Parents who have well-educated children report higher social standing and life satisfaction, experience fewer stressful events, and are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors related to smoking and diet. These factors moderately attenuate the associations between children’s education and parental inflammation. There is no conclusive evidence that mothers and fathers benefit differently from having well-educated children.DiscussionParents who devote family and personal resources to their offspring’s schooling may have better biological profiles in later life. Well-educated children may promote their parents’ wellbeing by strengthening perceived social status, reducing exposure to stressors, and encouraging a healthy lifestyle.

Suggested Citation

  • Chioun Lee, 2018. "Adult Children’s Education and Physiological Dysregulation Among Older Parents," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(6), pages 1143-1154.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:73:y:2018:i:6:p:1143-1154.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbx044
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    3. Youlu Zhang & Li Zhang & Fulian Li & Liqian Deng & Jiaoli Cai & Linyue Yu, 2022. "Offspring Education and Parents’ Health Inequality in China: Evidence from Spillovers of Education Reform," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-26, February.
    4. Nan Jiang, 2019. "Adult Children’s Education and Later-Life Health of Parents in China: The Intergenerational Effects of Human Capital Investment," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 257-278, August.

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