Mental health and social inequality: Pathways, critical periods and gender

Abstract The first presentation of the workshop reflects research around how critical and sensitive periods and pathways play a role in the development of mental health and social inequalities in a life course perspective. Using data from the Norwegian Longitudinal Health Behaviour Study we follow participants from age 13 into adult age to understand trajectories over important developmental periods. We further investigate whether becoming a parent has differential effects on depressive tendencies and life satisfaction in adulthood based on gender and socioeconomic background. Furthermore, based on our study and other existing evidence we discuss to what extent inequalities in subjective health complaints are reproduced from one generation to the next through educational attainment. For the purpose of the workshop, we welcome a discussion on potential as well as challenges in designing life course studies to investigate social inequality.