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Social mobility of the father influences child growth: A three‐generation study
Author(s) -
Koziel Slawomir,
Zaręba Monika,
Bielicki Tadeusz,
Scheffler Christiane,
Hermanussen Michael
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.23270
Subject(s) - social mobility , social class , daughter , demography , body height , upper class , psychology , body weight , sociology , medicine , political science , social science , law
Objectives The association between body height and social status is known. We were interested in the effect of intergeneration changes in social status on height. Methods Body height was measured in 2008 paternal grandfather‐father‐son and 1803 paternal grandfather‐father‐daughter triplets. The sample consisted of four child cohorts born in 1988, 1985, 1983, and 1980, and was measured annually from 6 to 11, 9 to 14, 11 to 16, and 14 to 18 years of age. Triplets were dichotomized according to grandfathers' occupation, into one “lower” and one “upper” grandparental class; and according to paternal education, into one “lower” and “upper” paternal class, resulting in four “family histories”: two nonmobile (grandfathers and fathers stayed in the same social class), and two mobile histories (social class of fathers and grandfathers differed). Results “Upper” class fathers are taller than “lower” class fathers. This class effect on height persists into the third generation. Upward social mobility (“lower” class fathers receive secondary or university education) results in taller stature both in the fathers and in the children. The opposite applies for downward social mobility. “Upper” class fathers with only basic or vocational education lose the social advantage and remain shorter. So do their children. Conclusions The class effect on height tends to persist into the next generation, but depends on education. Upward social mobility measured as a “better” education, results in taller stature, up to the third generation. The study highlights the importance of education as a major regulator of body height.