Health behaviours and health in adolescence as predictors of educational level in adulthood: a follow-up study from Finland

A longitudinal study design is used to find out whether health and health behaviours at age 12–16 predict educational level in early adulthood. The purpose is to study direct (based on health) and indirect (based on health behaviours) health-related selection mechanisms in adolescence. These mechanisms contribute to the allocation of people into various educational positions and thus to the creation of socio-economic health differences in adulthood.