From adolescent schooling to adult health: school experiences, contextual disadvantage, and inflammation

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Schorpp, Kristen Marie
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology

Abstract

Extensive research has identified the widespread benefits of positive academic and social experiences on adolescent well-being, but it remains unknown whether such experiences within the school context affect future physiological functioning. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1994-2006), this study examined the longitudinal relation between adolescent school experiences, school contextual disadvantage, and a physiological indicator of inflammation (C-reactive protein) in young adulthood. Results from ordinal logistic regression analysis provide evidence for the protective effect of academic achievement, cognitive aptitude, and extracurricular involvement on young adult C-reactive protein levels. Furthermore, school-level socioeconomic disadvantage moderated these associations, such that adolescents in contexts of high socioeconomic disadvantage experienced greater benefits from high academic achievement and school connectedness compared to adolescents in schools of lower socioeconomic disadvantage. These results are the first to identify the significant relation between adolescent schooling and physiological functioning, and also illuminate the potential for positive school experiences to promote individual resilience among adolescents in disadvantaged school contexts.

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