Cohort Effects in the Influence of Adult Children's Education on Their Elderly Parents' Health in Taiwan

Chi-Tsun Chiu, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore

Education is increasingly characterized as a “fundamental cause” of health disparities, and the importance of education on health increases across cohorts. Literature has shown that not only one's own education is important but also the education of family members may be linked to health. However, it is still not clear whether cohort effects in the influence of adult children's education on their elderly parents' health, especially in societies in which families are highly integrated. Taiwan provides an ideal setting for examining cohort changes in adult children's education and in the associations between adult children's education and their elderly parents' health. Given the living arrangements and the rapid growth in the level of education in Taiwan, our focus is on how younger cohorts’ elevated education levels are linked with parental generations’ health at the aggregate level.