Ample research suggests that the links between higher education and heath are robust and growing in strength. This research, however, tends to assume education was completed prior to assuming other adult roles. Importantly, the life course framework raises the question of whether “out-of-sequence” college completion conveys similar health returns. I investigate this question among a population for whom out-of-sequence schooling has grown more common: lower-educated mothers. This focus is also important given the growing education gap in women’s health and the links between maternal and child health. Data come from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898). Analyses involve random intercept and fixed effects models and diverse health measures. Findings suggest that postsecondary education does not improve mother’s health, except for reduced smoking among mothers with high school degrees or less that earned bachelor’s degrees. These findings inform health policy debates and theories linking education to health.

大量研究表明，高等教育与健康之间的联系是牢固的，并且越来越强。然而，这项研究倾向于假设教育是在承担其他成人角色之前完成的。重要的是，生命课程框架提出了一个问题，即“无序”大学完成是否传达了类似的健康回报。我在失序教育越来越普遍的人群中调查了这个问题：受教育程度较低的母亲。鉴于妇女健康方面的教育差距越来越大以及母婴健康之间的联系，这一重点也很重要。数据来自脆弱家庭和儿童福利研究 (N = 4,898)。分析涉及随机截距和固定效应模型以及各种健康措施。研究结果表明，高等教育并不能改善母亲的健康，除了具有高中或以下学历但获得学士学位的母亲减少吸烟。这些发现为将教育与健康联系起来的卫生政策辩论和理论提供了信息。