In a new Working Paper two researchers shows that living conditions during childhood and adolescence structure socio-economic circumstances also in midlife. It is not a surprise, but it is a new proof coming from 2 researchers and the Swedish prospective institute.
Childhood Poverty and Labour Market Exclusion. Findings from a Swedish Birth Cohort.
Bäckman, Olof & Anders Nilsson
Arbetsrapport/Institutet för Framtidstudier; 2007:13
Abstract
Research has consistently shown that poverty and economic hardship have negative consequences for children. Few studies, however, have examined whether these consequences persists into adulthood. In the present paper we broaden the focus and analyse how living conditions during childhood and adolescence structure socio-economic circumstances also in midlife. How does exposure to poverty during childhood and adolescence affect future probabilities for labour market exclusion and inclusion in early adulthood and in midlife?
The data are drawn from a new longitudinal Swedish data set – the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study (SBC) – in which we can follow a cohort of Swedes from birth (1953) to the age of 48 (2001). Our results show that childhood poverty clearly has a negative impact on attainment in adulthood. Persistent poverty in the family of origin and entering poverty in adolescence are particularly detrimental for life chances. This is most salient in the analysis of exclusion in midlife. Educational achievement and deviant behaviour (criminality and drug abuse) are identified as important intervening variables. The results are interpreted as a process of cumulative disadvantage. In our final analyses we focus on those excluded from the labour market in early adulthood and their likelihood to be included in midlife. We find that that resource attainment in terms of education and family has positive effects for the chance for inclusion and may in that respect be regarded as turning points.
There is, today, consensus regarding children’s rights to equal life chances. We know that poverty and other adverse living conditions not only have a direct impact on children’s well-being, but also that they have salient effects on how life courses develop. Research has consistently shown that poverty and economic hardship have negative consequences for children. Few studies, however, have examined whether these consequences persists into adulthood. In the present paper we broaden the focus and analyse how living conditions during childhood and adolescence structure socio-economic circumstances also in midlife.
In a recently published article Wagmiller et al. (2006), direct attention to the dynamics of economic hardship during childhood. The authors stress the importance of recognising that not only duration, but also the timing and sequencing of disadvantage are important for understanding how and to what degree adult living conditions depend on childhood experiences. As in many other studies within this vein of research Wagmiller et al. direct their attention toward economic disadvantage (for other examples see Bynner 1999; Haveman and Wolfe 1995). Financial poverty is a central indicator of poor living conditions because of its correlation with other dimensions of living conditions such as housing, health, education, social ties etc (Fritzell and Lundberg 2000). Nevertheless, we know from previous research that financial poverty is far from perfect as an indicator of adverse living conditions, marginalisation or social exclusion. Not least have authors within the European social exclusion literature pointed to the importance of adopting a multidimensional approach (cf. Atkinson 1998; Atkinson et al 2002). In this paper our main focus is on financial poverty as well, but we also account for other aspects of adverse living conditions during childhood and adolescence. More specifically our aim is to map how the dynamics of exposure to poverty during childhood and adolescence affect future probabilities for inclusion and exclusion both in early adulthood and in midlife. This also comprises analyses of so called turning points, i.e. events or processes that can turn a negative life course positive. This is accomplished by analysing a new Swedish data set – the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study (SBC) – in which we can follow a cohort of Swedes from birth to the age of 48 (Stenberg et al. 2006).
The paper proceeds with a discussion of some theoretical issues regarding the link between childhood poverty and adulthood living conditions. The data are then presented along with the operational definitions employed in the study. The presentation of the results begins with a section focusing on how poverty, its timing and duration in the family of origin, structure risks for labour market exclusion in early adulthood and midlife. This is followed by a section where we focus on factors contributing to chances for inclusion in midlife among those excluded in early adulthood. The paper ends with a discussion of these results.
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