Sociodemographic and psychosocial factors in childhood as predictors of adult mortality

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) 1995-09, Vol.85 (9), p.1237-1245
• Main Authors: Schwartz, J E, Friedman, H S, Tucker, J S, Tomlinson-Keasey, C, Wingard, D L, Criqui, M H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Analysis. Health state; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child Welfare; Childhood; Children & youth; Data collection; Demographics; Divorce; Divorce - psychology; Epidemiology; Families & family life; Female; Females; Gender differences; General aspects; Humans; Intelligence; Life expectancy; Longevity; Male; Medical sciences; Missing data; Mortality; Parents & parenting; Personality; Personality tests; Predictive Value of Tests; Predictors; Proportional Hazards Models; Prospective Studies; Psychological aspects; Psychology, Child; Psychosocial factors; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Relationship; Risk Factors; Sociodemographic aspects; Sociodemographics; Socioeconomic Factors; Stress, Psychological - psychology; USA; Variables
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.85.9.1237

Childhood sociodemographic, psychosocial, and environmental factors are often assumed to affect adult health and longevity. These relationships were prospectively tested by using the 7-decade Terman Life Cycle Study of Children With High Ability (n = 1285). Parental socioeconomic status, childhood health, objective childhood stressors (e.g., death or divorce of parents), and childhood personality were considered as potential predictors in hazard regression analyses of longevity through 1991. Parental divorce during childhood predicted decreased longevity, with sex controlled. Other potential social predictors failed to show significant associations with longevity. Three dimensions of childhood personality--conscientiousness, lack of cheerfulness, and permanency of mood (males only)--predicted increased longevity. The effects of parental divorce and childhood personality were largely independent and did not account for any of the gender difference in mortality. A small number of childhood factors significantly predicted mortality across the life span in this sample. Further research should focus on how these psychosocial factors influence longevity.