Aims: A longitudinal study was undertaken to assess the effects of parental home and youth paths on the adult social class differences in mortality among women. Methods: The study used population registration data on all Finnish women aged 30 - 34 in 1990 for whom information on their childhood characteristics and youth paths were available from the 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990 censuses. Cause of death follow-up was for the period 1991-98 (1,185 deaths). Results: Adjusting for parental social class, family type, and number of siblings attenuated the effects of adult social class on cardiovascular disease mortality by 27%; for all external causes this attenuation was negligible. Educational, marital, and employment paths accounted for a substantial part (30 - 85%) of the social class differences in mortality for all specific causes of death. Conclusions: Although living conditions in the parental home were associated with mediating life trajectories in youth their effect on adult social class differences in mortality was moderate. Youth paths have a pervasive influence on mortality risks and social class differences in mortality in middle adulthood.
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