Does social mobility affect the size of the socioeconomic mortality differential?: evidence from the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study

The effect of social mobility on the socioeconomic differential in mortalit y is examined with data from the Office for National Statistics Longitudina l Study. The analyses involve 46980 men aged 45-64 years in 1981. The morta lity risk of the socially mobile is compared with the mortality risk of the socially stable after adjustment for their class of origin (their social c lass in 1971) and class of destination (their social class in 1981) separat ely. Among those in employment there is some evidence that movement out of their class of origin is in the direction predicted by the idea of health-r elated social mobility. This evidence, however, seems strongest for causes of death which are least likely to have been preceded by prolonged incapaci ty. Movement into the class of destination, however, shows the opposite rel ationship with mortality. Compared with the socially stable members of thei r class of destination, the upwardly mobile tend to have higher mortality a nd the downwardly mobile tend to have lower mortality. This relationship wi th the class of destination, it is suggested, may explain why socioeconomic mortality differentials do not widen with increasing age.