Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Integrated Article

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Sociology

Supervisor

Dr. Anna Zajacova

Abstract

Postsecondary education is a fundamental social determinant of adult health behaviors. The knowledge and skills acquired through higher educational attainment can impact health behaviors indirectly through better occupations and incomes as well as directly by enhancing cognitive and non-cognitive abilities to enable healthier lifestyles. However, there has also been an increasing divide in health-related behaviors between adults with incomplete or lower-level postsecondary credentials (sub-BA) and those with at least a bachelor’s degree (BA+). In fact, adults with sub-BA levels of postsecondary education have seen rising death rates from preventable behavioral causes of early mortality, such as alcoholic liver disease. These important distinctions in the associations between levels of postsecondary education and adult health behaviors necessitate further investigations. My dissertation is thus comprised of three empirical studies that address important knowledge gaps by providing a comprehensive exploration and decomposition of the relationship between a postsecondary education and adult health behaviors.

In Chapter 2, I document the prevalence of important health behaviors across detailed levels of postsecondary educational attainment. Estimates are provided both in aggregate and across gender and race/ethnicity population subgroups. In Chapter 3, I provide both an examination and decomposition of health behaviors among adults with incomplete or lower-level (sub-BA) postsecondary credentials and those with at least a bachelor’s degree (BA+). Finally, in Chapter 4, I examine the relationship between completed levels of postsecondary education in adulthood and health behaviors measured at multiple time periods to determine how and when these associations evolve throughout the transition to adulthood.

Summary for Lay Audience

Postsecondary education is among the strongest social determinants of health-related behaviors in adulthood. The positive education-health relationship is largely thought to be universal across populations, health outcomes, and the entire range of postsecondary educational attainment. However, a growing number of studies have found that higher levels of postsecondary educational attainment do not uniformly lead to better health behaviors in adulthood. My dissertation research is thus comprised of three empirical studies that address critical knowledge gaps by examining important distinctions in the relationships between a postsecondary education and adult health behaviors. My first study outlines behavioral disparities across detailed levels of postsecondary educational attainment. Estimates are provided both for the total population and across gender and race/ethnicity. My second study explores potential justifications for the observed disparities between the health behaviors of adults with either incomplete or lower-level postsecondary credentials and those with at least a bachelor’s degree. My final study examines the relationship between an individual’s highest level of postsecondary education in adulthood and health-related behaviors measured at multiple time periods to determine how and when those associations evolve throughout the transition to adulthood.

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