Health Disparities from Adolescence into Young Adulthood: Add Health Wave IV

Kathleen Mullan Harris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Eric A. Whitsel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This poster will present a first view of new data coming out of Add Health Wave IV that depicts the health and well-being of young adults aged 24-32 in 2008 in the United States. Using four waves of data from Add Health, we examine race and socioeconomic disparities across an array of indicators from adolescence into young adulthood. Indicators include multiple measures of physical health, mental health, health risk behavior, reproductive health, health care and health conditions. Because these indicators have been measured the same way across waves of data collection in Add Health, we can map trajectories of these indicators by race and socioeconomic status. Race will include non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American. Socioeconomic status will be measured by parental background (education and income/poverty growing up). The implications of these disparities for adult health and social stratification in the U.S. will be discussed.