Psychological, economic, and social mediators of the education-health relationship in older adults.

Objective: Mediators in the relationship of education to health were examined to further explicate education as a resource.

Methods: Income, life satisfaction, services, and social support were assessed as mediators of the education-health relationship following criteria developed by Baron and Kenny and Holmbeck as applied to four aspects of health. A probability sample of 1,667 participants (age 55 and older) was interviewed in their homes.

Results: Education was related to all health measures and to all mediators; all mediators were related to all health measures. Education continued to have significant relationships to all health measures after each mediator was entered, but its contribution was lower in each analysis. Life satisfaction was consistently a strong mediator.

Discussion: Low-energy aspects of health may be more likely to be mediated by variables of a more psychological nature. Overall, educational attainment is a good investment for successful aging.