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Background Measurement error in self-report questionnaires is a common source of bias in epidemiologic studies. The study aim was to assess information bias of the educational gradient in sickness absence among participants in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), comparing self-report data with national register data. Methods MoBa is a national prospective cohort study. The present study included 49,637 participants, born 1967–1976, who gave birth 2000–2009. The highest completed education level was recorded in categories and as educational years. Sickness absence was defined as one or more spell lasting more than 16 days between pregnancy weeks 13 and 30. We computed sickness absence risk in mid-pregnancy in strata of education level. Associations between completed educational years and sickness absence were estimated as risk differences in binomial regression and compared between self-report and register data. In additional analyses, we aimed to explain discrepancies between estimates from the two data sources. Results The overall registry-based sickness absence risk was 0.478 and decreased for increasingly higher education in a consistent fashion, yielding an additive risk difference in association with one additional education year of − 0.032 (95% confidence interval − 0.035 to − 0.030). The self-report risk was lower (0.307) with a corresponding risk difference of only − 0.013 (95% confidence interval − 0.015 to − 0.011). The main explanation of the lower risk difference in the self-report data was a tendency for mothers in low education categories to omit reporting sickness absence in the questionnaire. Conclusions A plausible explanation for the biased self-report association is complexity of the sickness absence question and a resulting educational gradient in non-response. As shown for sickness absence in mid-pregnancy in the present study, national registries could be a preferred alternative to self-report questionnaires.

Background Completing upper secondary education is associated with higher work participation and less health-related absence from work. Although these outcomes are closely interrelated, most studies focus on single outcomes, using cross-sectional designs or short follow-up periods. As such, there is limited knowledge of the long-term outcomes, and how paths for completers and non-completers unfold over time. In this paper, we use multi-state models for time-to-event data to assess the long-term effects of completing upper secondary education on employment, tertiary education, sick leave, and disability pension over twelve and a half years for young men. Methods Baseline covariates and twelve and a half years of follow-up data on employment, tertiary education, sick leave and disability pension were obtained from national registries for all males born in Norway between 1971 and 1976 (n =184951). The effects of completing upper secondary education (by age 23) were analysed in a multi-state framework, adjusting for both individual and family level confounders. All analyses were done separately for general studies and vocational tracks. Results Completers do better on a range of outcomes compared to non-completers, for both fields of upper secondary education, but effects of completion change over time. The largest changes are for tertiary education and work, with the probability of work increasing reciprocally to the probability of education. Vocational students are quicker to transfer to the labour market, but tend to have more unemployment, sick leave and disability, and the absolute effects of completion on these outcomes are largest for vocational tracks. However, the relative effects of completion are larger for general studies. Conclusion Completing upper secondary education increases long-term work participation and lowers health-related absence for young men, but effects diminish over time. Studies that have used shorter follow-up periods could be overstating the negative effects of dropout on labour market participation. Multi-state models are well suited to analyse data on work, education and health-related absence, and can be useful in understanding the dynamic aspects of these outcomes.

Although marriage migration is an important route for immigration to Western Europe, little is known about how it is associated with the labour market trajectories of the minority populations involved. Using longitudinal population registry data on residents from a non-Western migrant background in Norway, this study compares the employment and earnings of those who ‘marry back home’, with those who find a spouse among Norwegian residents with the same national origin background. Following individuals up to 10 years before and after their first marriage (279,527 observations between 1993 and 2010), distributed fixed effects estimations suggest that the labour market trajectory is weaker in the years after marriage for those who have married marriage migrants, albeit the differences are small for men. For women from the first generation, marrying a marriage migrant is associated with lower employment and earnings, progressively declining with time. For women from the second generation, this relative decrease only holds for the labour earnings of employed women. Supplementary analyses indicate that the falling labour market trajectories of women marrying marriage migrants are related to lower educational attainment, higher fertility and stronger associations between motherhood and the labour market.

ObjectivesThe MoBa study includes data from mothers on several occasions during pregnancy and after birth. The purpose of this study was to compare education level and mid-pregnancy sickness absence in self-report MoBa data and in national registries.MethodsWe followed MoBa participating mothers, born in Norway 1967–1976, in several national registers. The first pregnancy 1999–2009 to 36 629 mothers was considered for analysis of education level in MoBa and the National Education Database, and for mid-pregnancy sickness absence from work in MoBa and in the national event database FD-Trygd. The degree of agreement in 5-level education level and dichotomous absence >14 days between gestational weeks 13 and 30 were estimated in tabular analyses. We computed associations between sickness absence and years of education in binomial regression as a measure of educational gradient in sickness absence.ResultsThe agreement in education level among 31 833 mothers with data from both sources was 70%, the self-report level was higher than the register data for 24%, register data level was higher for 6%. The main discrepancy was for master level education (25% in self-report data and 12% in registry data). The sickness absence risk was 38% in self-report data and 44% in registry data, with an 81% agreement for the 11 801 mothers with data from both sources. A one-year increment in education was associated with a 3.2 percent point risk reduction in absence both for self-report data and registry data (95% confidence intervals 2.9 to 3.7 percent points for self-report data and 2.8 to 3.5 percent points for registry data).ConclusionsParticipating MoBa mothers tended to report higher education level and lower sickness absence than for data collected in national registries. This difference did not seem to influence associations between education level and sickness absence risk in mid-pregnancy.

ObjectivesThe MoBa study includes data from mothers on several occasions during pregnancy and after birth. The purpose of this study was to compare education level and mid-pregnancy sickness absence in self-report MoBa data and in national registries.MethodsWe followed MoBa participating mothers, born in Norway 1967-1976, in several national registers. The first pregnancy 1999-2009 to 36 629 mothers was considered for analysis of education level in MoBa and the National Education Database, and for mid-pregnancy sickness absence from work in MoBa and in the national event database FD-Trygd. The degree of agreement in 5-level education level and dichotomous absence >14 days between gestational weeks 13 and 30 were estimated in tabular analyses. We computed associations between sickness absence and years of education in binomial regression as a measure of educational gradient in sickness absence.ResultsThe agreement in education level among 31 833 mothers with data from both sources was 70%, the self-report level was higher than the register data for 24%, register data level was higher for 6%. The main discrepancy was for master level education (25% in self-report data and 12% in registry data). The sickness absence risk was 38% in self-report data and 44% in registry data, with an 81% agreement for the 11 801 mothers with data from both sources. A one-year increment in education was associated with a 3.2 percent point risk reduction in absence both for self-report data and registry data (95% confidence intervals 2.9 to 3.7 percent points for self-report data and 2.8 to 3.5 percent points for registry data).ConclusionsParticipating MoBa mothers tended to report higher education level and lower sickness absence than for data collected in national registries. This difference did not seem to influence associations between education level and sickness absence risk in mid-pregnancy.

Inclusion and Exclusion of Young Adult Migrants in Europe presents analyses of research carried out during the course of the EUMARGINS research project, exploring the inclusion and exclusion of young adult immigrants across a range national contexts, including the Nordic welfare states, old colonial countries, Southern European nations and the Eastern European region. Scrutinising legal, policy and historical sources, as well as participation in labour market and education systems, this volume engages with multiple social arenas and spheres, to integrate research and provide a cohesive investigation of the dynamics of each national setting. In addition to the chapters focused on individual national contexts (Estonia, France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK), the book also provides a comprehensive transnational analysis, developing a comparative perspective and explaining the overarching research framework. A carefully organized and comprehensive exploration of the exclusion and inclusion of young adult migrants in Europe, Inclusion and Exclusion of Young Adult Migrants in Europe will appeal to social scientists with interests in migration, population change, integration and exclusion.

BackgroundCompleting high school is associated with higher work participation and lower health-related absence. Few studies consider the dynamics of such outcomes over time. We assessed how high school completion affected work participation and health-related absence in young men over a 14.5 year follow-up period, using multi-state models.MethodsBaseline covariates and follow-up data on five states: work, education, unemployment, sick leave and disability, were obtained from national registries for all males born in Norway between 1971 and 1976 (n=184 951). The impact of high school completion (before age 21) on transitions between states from age 21 to 35 was analysed using Cox proportional hazards models. Population average effects were assessed by analysing data weighted by individuals’ inverse probability of high school completion. Long-term impacts are illustrated by probabilities for all states during follow-up.ResultsFor Norwegian men, high school completion was strongly associated with higher work participation and lower health-related absence. When adjusting for baseline covariates, associations were reduced although still substantial. Right after start of follow-up, the crude probability for unemployment was 20.9 percentage points (pp) lower for completers compared to non-completers, and 2.3 pp lower for sick leave. In the weighted analysis, the corresponding differences were 16.5 and 1.5 pp. Near the end of follow-up, the crude differences were 6.9 pp for unemployment and 3.8 pp for sick leave. Corresponding numbers were 3.9 and 1.8 pp in the weighted analysis.ConclusionThe results suggest that completing high school increases long-term work-participation and lowers health-related absence for young men.