Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health: A Life-Course Perspective on Social Stratification, Cultural Capital and Health-Related Behaviors

The ultimate aim of this thesis is to explore the importance of cultural capital in the understanding of socioeconomic inequalities in health-related behaviors. This is accomplished by a stepwise approach in which the importance of social stratification, health-related behaviors, early-life environment and cultural capital in the distribution of health is successively explored.

The first part examines the relationship between socioeconomic position and mortality, and the contribution of health-related behaviors to socioeconomic inequalities in mortality.
The second part investigates whether earlylife environments have long lasting effects on health and health-related behaviors of adults.
The third part explores whether cultural capital contributes to socioeconomic inequalities in health-related behaviors.
And finally, the fourth part explores potential pathways in the relationship between cultural capital and health-related behaviors.