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Research article
Gender Disparities in the Education Gradient in Self-Reported Health across Birth Cohorts in China
Bowen Zhu
Hunan Normal University
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2350-2735
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Variation in the relationship between education and health has been studied intensely over the past few decades. Although there is research on gender disparity and cohort variations in educational effect on health using samples from the U.S. and Europe, research about China’s is limited. Given the specific social changes in China, our study is designed to analyze the gender and cohort patterns in the education-health gradient. Method: The latent growth-curve modeling was used to analyze the gender and cohort variations in the education gradient in self-rated health among Chinese respondents. The study employed longitudinal and nationally representative data from the Chinese Family Panel Studies from the years 2010 to 2016. Each cohort is specified according to their distinct periods of social change in China. Following the analysis, we used latent growth-curve model to illustrate gender and cohort differences in the age-graded education and health trajectories. Results: Although Chinese men have reported to have better health than women in general, women reported 1.6 percentage points higher in self-reported health for each additional year of schooling compared to that of men (P < 0.001). The latent growth curve model showed women’s extra education benefits were persistent overtime. Compared to the people born during the “Old China” (1908-1938), the education gradient in self-rated health did not change for cohorts born before 1955 and after 1977, but the education-health gap changed significantly in the 1956-1960 (O.R.=1.038, P<0.05), 1967-1976 (O.R.=1.058, P<0.001), and 1977-1983 (O.R.=1.063, P<0.001) cohorts. There was a gender difference for the cohort variations in the education-health gradient. For women, the education effect in the 1956-1960 (O.R.=1.063, P<0.05) , 1967-1976 (O.R.=1.088, P<0.001) and 1977-1983 (O.R.=1.102, P<0.001) cohorts was significantly higher than that of the 1908-1938 cohort. On the contrary, the education-health gradient remained the same across all cohorts for men. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the education-health gradient varies across cohorts for women, but the size of education effect remains consistent for men across cohorts. The findings support the resource-substitution hypothesis and not the rising-importance hypothesis in China. We discussed the potential influences of the unique, social transformation and educational expansion in China.
Keywords
Education and Health Gap, Gender Disparity, Cohort Effect, Age Vector Model
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CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 2
Posted 20 Jan, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #2 received
Received 26 Feb, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 01 Feb, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 01 Feb, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 28 Jan, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 27 Jan, 2020
Editor assigned
On 16 Jan, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 15 Jan, 2020
Editor invited
On 15 Jan, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 17 Dec, 2019
Review #2 received
Received 16 Dec, 2019
Review #1 received
Received 04 Dec, 2019
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 18 Nov, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 17 Nov, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 01 Nov, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 16 Oct, 2019
Editor assigned
On 16 Oct, 2019
First submitted
On 15 Oct, 2019
Editor invited
On 15 Oct, 2019
Metrics
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PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Health Policy
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This preprint is under consideration at BMC Public Health. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Gender Disparities in the Education Gradient in Self-Reported Health across Birth Cohorts in China
Bowen Zhu
Hunan Normal University
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2350-2735
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 2
Posted 20 Jan, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #2 received
Received 26 Feb, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 01 Feb, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 01 Feb, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 28 Jan, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 27 Jan, 2020
Editor assigned
On 16 Jan, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 15 Jan, 2020
Editor invited
On 15 Jan, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 17 Dec, 2019
Review #2 received
Received 16 Dec, 2019
Review #1 received
Received 04 Dec, 2019
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 18 Nov, 2019
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 17 Nov, 2019
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 01 Nov, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 16 Oct, 2019
Editor assigned
On 16 Oct, 2019
First submitted
On 15 Oct, 2019
Editor invited
On 15 Oct, 2019
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Health Policy
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background: Variation in the relationship between education and health has been studied intensely over the past few decades. Although there is research on gender disparity and cohort variations in educational effect on health using samples from the U.S. and Europe, research about China’s is limited. Given the specific social changes in China, our study is designed to analyze the gender and cohort patterns in the education-health gradient. Method: The latent growth-curve modeling was used to analyze the gender and cohort variations in the education gradient in self-rated health among Chinese respondents. The study employed longitudinal and nationally representative data from the Chinese Family Panel Studies from the years 2010 to 2016. Each cohort is specified according to their distinct periods of social change in China. Following the analysis, we used latent growth-curve model to illustrate gender and cohort differences in the age-graded education and health trajectories. Results: Although Chinese men have reported to have better health than women in general, women reported 1.6 percentage points higher in self-reported health for each additional year of schooling compared to that of men (P < 0.001). The latent growth curve model showed women’s extra education benefits were persistent overtime. Compared to the people born during the “Old China” (1908-1938), the education gradient in self-rated health did not change for cohorts born before 1955 and after 1977, but the education-health gap changed significantly in the 1956-1960 (O.R.=1.038, P<0.05), 1967-1976 (O.R.=1.058, P<0.001), and 1977-1983 (O.R.=1.063, P<0.001) cohorts. There was a gender difference for the cohort variations in the education-health gradient. For women, the education effect in the 1956-1960 (O.R.=1.063, P<0.05) , 1967-1976 (O.R.=1.088, P<0.001) and 1977-1983 (O.R.=1.102, P<0.001) cohorts was significantly higher than that of the 1908-1938 cohort. On the contrary, the education-health gradient remained the same across all cohorts for men. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the education-health gradient varies across cohorts for women, but the size of education effect remains consistent for men across cohorts. The findings support the resource-substitution hypothesis and not the rising-importance hypothesis in China. We discussed the potential influences of the unique, social transformation and educational expansion in China.
Due to technical limitations, full-text HTML conversion of this manuscript could not be completed. However, the manuscript can be downloaded and accessed as a PDF.