Background: Social mobility processes, i. e. the movement of a person from one social position to another, are central mechanisms for explaining health inequalities. Social differences in health status or behaviour may also change with changes in social status. This article examines the importance of intergenerational mobility, i. e. the rise and fall of social status in relation to parental social position, for subjective health in East and West Germany and whether this relationship has changed over 20 years.
Material and methods: The data basis is the socio-economic panel from 1992-2012. Employees aged between 25 and 59 were taken into account. Different mobility paths were determined by comparing their current occupational positions with those of their parents. For these, prevalence and logistic regression of subjective health were calculated.
Results: Those in low occupational positions rated their health more often as being worse in all periods. Upwardly mobile individuals had a lower risk of poorer health (OR 0.72) compared to those who remained in their original position. Persons affected by downward mobility had a similarly worse self-rated health (OR 1.55 or OR 1.86). Significant differences in gender or region of origin (East-West Germany) could not be determined. Education and income contribute to explaining the relationship.
Conclusion: The results suggest that social advancement has a positive effect on health, whereas social decline is negative - regardless of gender, region of origin or time. It is therefore important to reinforce political efforts aimed at increasing the mobility opportunities of all social groups in a positive sense and thus reducing social inequalities.
Keywords: East and West Germany; GSOEP; Occupational status; Social mobility; Subjective health.