OBJECTIVE: To analyze the influence of biological and socioeconomic factors throughout life on entry into the university and insertion in the work force of young adults from the 1982 birth cohort. METHODS: Longitudinal study of 5,914 births that took place in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil, in 1982. Data was collected by means of questionnaires applied on young adults when accompanying the 1982 cohort in 2004-5. Information was gathered concerning educational level and insertion in the labor market. Poisson Regression was utilized to study the effect of demographic and socioeconomic variables, as well as birth weight and maternal breastfeeding, on the outcomes. RESULTS: On the average, these young adults had 9.4 (± 3.1) years of schooling and 42% of them were attending school in 2004-5. One in five young adults had entered a university and approximately two thirds were working during the month prior to the interview. Entry in the university was determined by economic conditions. Furthermore, women's birth weight and breastfeeding among men influenced this outcome. Insertion in the labor market was more frequent among the poorer men, but this did not affect women's outcomes in this respect. CONCLUSIONS: The low inclusion in the university and the need to enter the labor market among the poor families maintains a vicious circle that reproduces the dominant social hierarchy.
Adult; Educational Status; Work; Employment; Cohort Studies; Brasil
