The socioeconomic environment in childhood is a powerful determinant for health behavior in adulthood, subsequently influencing health outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms are insufficiently understood. This study assesses locus of control (LOC) as a mediator linking childhood socioeconomic status (SES) with health behavior (smoking, regular alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet and low physical activity). Drawing on a representative sample from Germany (SOEP), we investigated these relations using structural equations modelling. Results show that externally oriented LOC explains up to 6% of the relationship between childhood SES and health behavior in adulthood, independently from adult SES. Stratification indicates that these results hold in women but not in men, in younger and middle-aged individuals but not in older ones. Hence, control beliefs play a modest yet significant role in shaping the socioeconomic gradient in health behavior and might have far-reaching consequences on how morbidity and mortality arise and persist across generations.

儿童时期的社会经济环境是成年期健康行为的重要决定因素，进而影响健康结果。然而，对潜在机制的了解不足。本研究评估控制点 (LOC) 作为将儿童社会经济地位 (SES) 与健康行为（吸烟、经常饮酒、不健康饮食和低体力活动）联系起来的中介。借鉴德国 (SOEP) 的代表性样本，我们使用结构方程建模研究了这些关系。结果表明，外部导向的 LOC 解释了高达 6% 的儿童 SES 与成年期健康行为之间的关系，独立于成人 SES。分层表明，这些结果适用于女性，但不适用于男性，适用于年轻和中年个体，但不适用于老年人。因此，