Life course surveying as a means
to prevent marginalisation

A new life course study will investigate the impact of health, nutritional factors and possible serious financial difficulties in the family during early childhood and youth on people’s health and financial standing later in life. This study is part of the Academy of Finland’s research programme entitled Responding to Public Health Challenges (SALVE).

The objective of this study, undertaken jointly by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the University of Helsinki and the University of Oulu, is to produce new information about marginalisation and the factors that determine people’s ability to cope socially, and how these factors develop. The new research data will facilitate the development of more efficient preventive measures, and can also be utilised in political decision-making.  

The roots of marginalisation and inequality in health and well-being lie in childhood, but current knowledge about their development throughout the course of people’s lives is scattered. Earlier studies have not taken into consideration the impact of social factors on the level of society itself. This study makes the assumption that marginalisation develops in different ways at different times and in different areas.

Previous studies have produced very little information about coping processes, in other words, about successful social coping and social adaptation despite childhood problems. This information is significant for the success of any preventive measures. One theory is that when someone is faced with setbacks, the education of the parents, functional family relationships, and positive reinforcement and experiences in school will lead to a successful recovery and the ability to cope socially.

Five collections of birth cohort data ranging from the 1930s to the 1980s will be used in the research project. This detailed information gathered since birth will be supplemented using information from government health and social registers. Four of the cohort data collections concern residents from the Uusimaa region and Northern Finland, while one covers all children born in Finland in 1987. The data content of the materials is high in quality, and is considered unique on a global scale in terms of its comprehensiveness.

For further information, please contact Professor Mika Gissler, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)/Nordic School of Public Health (NHV), E-mail: mika.gissler@thl.fi

Academy of Finland Communications
Communications Specialist Leena Vähäkylä
Tel. +358 (0)9 7748 8327
E-mail: leena.vahakyla@aka.fi