In low-income countries, intergenerational processes can culminate in the replication of extreme forms of health disadvantage between mothers and adult daughters, including experiencing a young child’s death. The preventable nature of most child deaths raises questions of whether social resources can protect women from enduring this adversity like their mothers. This study examined whether education—widely touted as a vehicle for social mobility in resource-poor countries—disrupts the intergenerational cycle of maternal bereavement. We estimated multilevel discrete-time survival models of women’s hazard of child loss using Demographic and Health Survey Program data (N = 195,744 women in 345 subnational regions in 32 African countries). Women’s educational attainment minimizes the salience of their mothers’ bereavement history for their own probability of child loss; however, mothers’ background becomes irrelevant only among women with ≥10 years of schooling. Education’s neutralizing influence is most prominent in the highest mortality-burdened communities.
AlesinaAlbertoHohmannSebastianMichalopoulosSteliosPapaioannouElias. 2021. “Intergenerational Mobility in Africa.” Econometrica89(1):1–35.
2.
AndersenSigne HaldRichmond-RakerdLeah S.MoffittTerrie E.CaspiAvshalom. 2021. “Nationwide Evidence That Education Disrupts the Intergenerational Transmission of Disadvantage.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences118(31):e2103896118. DOI:10.1073/pnas.2103896 118.
3.
AxinnWilliam G.ClarkbergMarin E.ThorntonArland. 1994. “Family Influences on Family Size Preferences.” Demography31(1):65–79.
4.
AzomahouTheophile T.YitbarekEleni Abraham. 2016. “Intergenerational Education Mobility in Africa: Has Progress Been Inclusive?” Working Paper No. 7843. World Bank Policy Research, Washington, DC.
5.
BarberJennifer S.2000. “Intergenerational Influences on the Entry into Parenthood: Mothers’ Preferences for Family and Nonfamily Behavior.” Social Forces79(1):319–48.
6.
BehrmanJulia Andrea. 2015a. “Does Schooling Affect Women’s Desired Fertility? Evidence from Malawi, Uganda, and Ethiopia.” Demography52(3):787–809.
7.
BehrmanJulia Andrea. 2015b. “The Effect of Increased Primary Schooling on Adult Women’s HIV Status in Malawi and Uganda: Universal Primary Education as a Natural Experiment.” Social Science & Medicine127:108–15.
8.
BicegoGeorge. 1997. “Estimating Adult Mortality Rates in the Context of the AIDS Epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa: Analysis of DHS Sibling Histories.” Health Transition Review7(Suppl. 2):7–22.
9.
BlauPeter M.DuncanOtis Dudley. 1967. The American Occupational Structure. New York, NY: Wiley & Sons.
10.
BloomeDeirdreDyerShaunaZhouXiang. 2018. “Educational Inequality, Educational Expansion, and Intergenerational Income Persistence in the United States.” American Sociological Review83(6):1215–53.
11.
BongaartsJohn. 2003. “Completing the Fertility Transition in the Developing World: The Role of Educational Differences and Fertility Preferences.” Population Studies57(3):321–35.
12.
De NeveJan-WalterFinkGüntherSubramanianS. V.MoyoSikhulileBorJacob. 2015. “Length of Secondary Schooling and Risk of HIV Infection in Botswana: Evidence from a Natural Experiment.” The Lancet Global Health3(8):e470–77.
13.
EinarsdóttirJónína. 2005. Tired of Weeping: Mother Love, Child Death, and Poverty in Guinea-Bissau. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
14.
Eloundou-EnyegueParfaitDavanzoJulie. 2003. “Economic Downturns and Schooling Inequality, Cameroon, 1987–95.” Population Studies57(2):183–97.
15.
EmranM. ShaheShilpiForhad. 2015. “Gender, Geography, and Generations: Intergenerational Educational Mobility in Post-reform India.” World Development72:362–80.
16.
FeehanDennis M.BorgesGabriel M.2021. “Estimating Adult Death Rates from Sibling Histories: A Network Approach.” Demography58(4):1525–46.
17.
FilmerDeonPritchettLant H.2001. “Estimating Wealth Effects without Expenditure Data—or Tears: An Application to Educational Enrollments in States of India.” Demography38(1):115–32.
18.
FryeMargaret. 2012. “Bright Futures in Malawi’s New Dawn: Educational Aspirations as Assertions of Identity.” American Journal of Sociology117(6):1565–624.
19.
GakidouEmmanuelaCowlingKryciaLozanoRafaelMurrayChristopher J. L.2010. “Increased Educational Attainment and Its Effect on Child Mortality in 175 Countries between 1970 and 2009: A Systematic Analysis.” The Lancet376(9745):959–74.
20.
GrépinKaren A.BharadwajPrashant. 2015. “Maternal Education and Child Mortality in Zimbabwe.” Journal of Health Economics44:97–117.
21.
HastingsSally O.2000. “Self-Disclosure and Identity Management by Bereaved Parents.” Communication Studies51(4):352–71.
22.
KalmijnMatthijs. 2022. “Intergenerational Transmission of Health Behaviors in a Changing Demographic Context: The Case of Smoking and Alcohol Consumption.” Social Science & Medicine296:114736. DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114736.
23.
KoskiAlissaStrumpfErin C.KaufmanJay S.FrankJohnHeymannJodyNandiArijit. 2018. “The Impact of Eliminating Primary School Tuition Fees on Child Marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Quasi-experimental Evaluation of Policy Changes in 8 Countries.” PLoS One13(5):e0197928. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0197928.
24.
KravdalØystein. 2002. “Education and Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa: Individual and Community Effects.” Demography39(2):233–50. doi:10.1353/dem.2002.0017.
25.
LiuLiOzaShefaliHoganDanChuYuePerinJamieZhuJunLawnJoy E.CousensSimonMathersColinBlackRobert E.2016. “Global, Regional, and National Causes of under-5 Mortality in 2000–15: An Updated Systematic Analysis with Implications for the Sustainable Development Goals.” The Lancet388(10063):3027–35.
26.
LongJ. ScottMustilloSarah A.2021. “Using Predictions and Marginal Effects to Compare Groups in Regression Models for Binary Outcomes.” Sociological Methods & Research50(3):1284–320.
27.
MasquelierBruno. 2013. “Adult Mortality from Sibling Survival Data: A Reappraisal of Selection Biases.” Demography50(1):207–28.
28.
MasquelierBrunoDutreuilhCatriona. 2014. “Sibship Sizes and Family Sizes in Survey Data Used to Estimate Mortality.” Population69(2):221–38.
29.
McBrideM. ChadTollerPaige. 2011. “Negotiation of Face between Bereaved Parents and Their Social Networks.” Southern Communication Journal76(3):210–29.
30.
MeyerAnna C.OpokuConstanceGoldKatherine J.2018. “‘They Say I Should Not Think about It’: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Experience of Infant Loss for Bereaved Mothers in Kumasi, Ghana.” OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying77(3):267–79.
31.
MikkonenJanneRemesHannaMoustgaardHetaMartikainenPekka. 2020. “Evaluating the Role of Parental Education and Adolescent Health Problems in Educational Attainment.” Demography57(6):2245–67.
32.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.2007. “Life Course Trajectories of Perceived Control and Their Relationship to Education.” American Journal of Sociology112(5):1339–82.
33.
MolitorisJosephBarclayKieronKolkMartin. 2019. “When and Where Birth Spacing Matters for Child Survival: An International Comparison Using the DHS.” Demography56(4):1349–70.
34.
MurphyMichael. 2012. “Intergenerational Fertility Correlations in Contemporary Developing Counties.” American Journal of Human Biology24(5):696–704.
35.
ObermeyerZiadRajaratnamJulie KnollParkChang H.GakidouEmmanuelaHoganMargaret C.LopezAlan D.MurrayChristopher J. L.2010. “Measuring Adult Mortality Using Sibling Survival: A New Analytical Method and New Results for 44 Countries, 1974–2006.” PLoS Medicine7(4):e1000260. DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000260.
36.
OzierOwen. 2018. “The Impact of Secondary Schooling in Kenya a Regression Discontinuity Analysis.” Journal of Human Resources53(1):157–88.
37.
PsacharopoulosGeorgePatrinosHarry Anthony. 2004. “Returns to Investment in Education: A Further Update.” Education Economics12(2):111–34.
38.
RanasingheRasika. 2015. “The Transmission of Education across Generations: Evidence from Australia.” The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy15(4):1893–917.
39.
RauscherEmily. 2016. “Does Educational Equality Increase Mobility? Exploiting Nineteenth-Century U.S. Compulsory Schooling Laws.” American Journal of Sociology121(6):1697–761.
40.
RogersCatherine H.FloydFrank J.SeltzerMarsha MailickGreenbergJanHongJinkuk. 2008. “Long-Term Effects of the Death of a Child on Parents’ Adjustment in Midlife.” Journal of Family Psychology22(2):203–11.
41.
ShapiroDavid. 2012. “Women’s Education and Fertility Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Vienna Yearbook of Population Research10:9–30.
42.
SharkeyPatrick. 2008. “The Intergenerational Transmission of Context.” American Journal of Sociology113(4):931–69.
43.
Smith-GreenawayEmilyAlburez-GutierrezDiegoTrinitapoliJennyZagheniEmilio. 2021. “Global Burden of Maternal Bereavement: Indicators of the Cumulative Prevalence of Child Loss.” BMJ Global Health6(4):e004837. DOI:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004837.
44.
Smith-GreenawayEmilyTrinitapoliJenny. 2020. “Maternal Cumulative Prevalence Measures of Child Mortality Show Heavy Burden in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences8(117):4027–33. doi:10.1073/pnas.1907343117.
45.
Smith-GreenawayEmilyWeitzmanAbigailLinYingyiHussKatarina. 2024. “Intergenerational clustering of under-five mortality: A cohort perspective in low- and middle-income countries.” Demography.
46.
SmørholmSesilie. 2016. “Suffering Peacefully: Experiences of Infancy Death in Contemporary Zambia.” Ethos44(3):333–51.
47.
StroebeMargaretSchutHenkStroebeWolfgang. 2007. “Health Consequences of Bereavement: A Review.” The Lancet Infectious Diseases370(9603):1960–73.
48.
StroebeWolfgangSchutHenk. 2001. “Risk Factors in Bereavement Outcome: A Methodological and Empirical Review.” Pp. 349–371 in Handbook of Bereavement Research: Consequences, Coping, and Care, edited by StroebeM. S.HanssonR. O.StroebeW.SchutH.Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
49.
TembonMercyFortLucia. 2008. Girls’ Education in the 21st Century: Gender Equality, Empowerment, and Economic Growth. Washington, DC: World Bank.
50.
ThomasDuncan. 1996. “Education across Generations in South Africa.” The American Economic Review86(2):330–34.
51.
TimæusIan M.JassehMomodou. 2004. “Adult Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys.” Demography41(4):757–72. DOI:10.1353/dem.2004.0037.
52.
TimæusIan M.MoultrieTom A.2015. “Teenage Childbearing and Educational Attainment in South Africa.” Studies in Family Planning46(2): 143–60.
53.
UmbersonDebra. 2017. “Black Deaths Matter: Race, Relationship Loss, and Effects on Survivors.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior58(4):405–20.
54.
UmbersonDebraOlsonJulie SkalameraCrosnoeRobertLiuHuiPudrovskaTetyanaDonnellyRachel. 2017. “Death of Family Members as an Overlooked Source of Racial Disadvantage in the United States.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences114(5):915–20.
55.
WareHelen. 1984. “Effects of Maternal Education, Women’s Roles, and Child Care on Child Mortality.” Population and Development Review10:191–214.
56.
WeitzmanAbigail. 2017. “The Effects of Women’s Education on Maternal Health: Evidence from Peru.” Social Science & Medicine180:1–9.
57.
WeitzmanAbigail. 2018. “Does Increasing Women’s Education Reduce Their Risk of Intimate Partner Violence? Evidence from an Education Policy Reform.” Criminology56(3):574–607.
58.
WeitzmanAbigailSmith-GreenawayEmily. 2020. “The Marital Implications of Bereavement: Child Death and Intimate Partner Violence in West and Central Africa.” Demography57(1):347–71.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
