Table 2 Early‐life indicators of education.
| Indicator | Location, study design | Indicators of SEP measured | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highest education level of paternal and maternal grandmother | Danish 1958 cohort of men51 | P | Validity: Education of paents is less likely to change after young adulthood than their occupation or income Low educational level of the mother is an important childhood characteristic in explaining socioeconomic inequalities in health56Relevance: Relationship between education and health exists almost universally Norms and social meanings of education change over time and are different between population groups and cultures6Reliability:Potentially affected by recall bias Education level of parents is a relatively stable indicator of SEPDeconstruction: Not applicable |
| Highest education level of father | 1958 British Birth Cohort52 | P | |
| USA, Longitudinal Alameda County Study53 | R | ||
| USA, Cross‐sectional National Survey of Midlife Development54 | R | ||
| USA, Longitudinal Normative Aging Study55 | R | ||
| Highest education level of mother | Australia, Longitudinal Mater—University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy and its Outcomes48,57 | P | |
| Danish 1958 cohort of men51 | P | ||
| The Netherlands, Longitudinal Study of Socio‐Economic Health Differences58 | R | ||
| USA, Cross‐sectional National Survey of Midlife Development54 | R | ||
| Mother's education when participant born and aged 7 years | USA, Longitudinal National Collaborative Perinatal Project59,60 | P | |
| Highest education level of parents | Slovakia, Cross‐sectional survey of adolescents61 | P | |
| USA, Longitudinal CARDIA Study62 | R | ||
| USA, Cross‐sectional, Midwestern Public School Survey49 | R | ||
| USA, Longitudinal National Survey of Children63 | P | ||
| Mother's and father's education level when participant aged 13 years | Brazil, Cross‐sectional, Cianorte Survey of School Children64,65 | P | |
| Mother's and father's education level when participant aged 10 years | Finland, Longitudinal Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study66,67,68,69,70 | R | |
| Mother's and father's education level when participant aged 4 years | 1946 British Birth Cohort71,72 | P | |
| Head of household's years of completed schooling when participant aged 15 years | USA National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men73 | R | |
| Participant household's highest education level | USA, Longitudinal Harvard Study of Moods and Cycles74 | P |
P, prospectively; R, retrospectively; SEP, socioeconomic position.