Effect of life course transitions on health inequalities. Health consequences of changes in romantic partnership, work and employment status among men and women

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Research questions: This projects aims at advancing our knowledge about the emergence and reproduction of social health inequalities through life course transitions. Based on the theoretical premises of the cumulative advantage/disadvantage model we first analyse health-related shifts as a function of transitions in the domains of romantic partnerships and employment. Second, we extend our focus to the effects these life course transitions have on the health of partners and children. Throughout the project, particular attention will be paid to gender-specific health outcomes of these life course transitions. Theoretical model: The theoretical model rests on the assumption that life course transitions have an effect on health (causation) and in turn are affected by health (selection), leading to a potentially self-reinforcing dynamics of poor health vs. good health over time. Potential causal pathways (resources, stressors and strains, and health behaviour) will be analysed within three work packages: Work package 1, Partnership transitions: In this work package, we analyse effects of health on union formation and union dissolution as well as health-related consequences of these transitions. We distinguish between marital and non-marital relationships as well as between first and higher order marriages. Work package 2, Transitions in employment: This work package focusses on the associations between occupational mobility, unemployment and health. First, we examine how upward and downward occupational mobility influences health. In a second step, health effects of unemployment and reemployment are analysed. We focus on how the health consequences of unemployment are moderated by previous occupational status, a question that has received very little attention so far. Work package 3, Social dynamics of health: In this work package we investigate in how far family members buffer negative health consequences of (downward) mobility or unemployment. At the same time, we are interested in spillover effects of one family member's transitions on the other family members' health. Data and methods: Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, the analysis will rest heavily on longitudinal methods exploiting within-subject variation, e.g. fixed effects panel regression for ordinal outcomes. In addition, dyadic data analysis will be used to study social context effects on health and health behaviour through family relations. Implications: Evidence-based knowledge about critical stages in the life course and social processes through which health inequalities are shaped and reproduced may provide a crucial input for designing public health measures and social policies. We will thus make findings from the project available to medical practitioners, social workers and policy makers.