[Does race/skin color modify the effect of intergenerational educational mobility on life satisfaction and family income? ELSA-Brasil results].

Using data from 12,987 participants of the second visit of ELSA-Brasil (2012-2014), we investigated whether race/skin color (white, mixed-race, black) modifies the association of intergenerational educational mobility with life satisfaction and average per capita income. Intergenerational educational mobility was assessed by comparing maternal schooling with that of participants. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (satisfied versus dissatisfied) was used to assess satisfaction with life. The prevalence of dissatisfaction with life was higher in black (13.5%) and mixed-race people (12.4%) than in white ones (9.2%). After adjusting for age, sex, marital status, and research center, upward educational mobility was associated with 32% odds (OR = 0.68; 95%CI: 0.53-0.86) of lower levels of dissatisfaction with life when compared to the stable-low trajectory, but this association only occurred for white people. The stable-high trajectory was associated with 31% (OR = 0.69; 95%CI: 0.56-0.86) and 29% (OR = 0.71; 95%CI: 0.54-0.95) odds of lower rates of dissatisfaction with life in white and mixed-race people, respectively. Black individuals showed no association between social mobility and life satisfaction. Consistent with these findings, upward and stable-high educational trajectories were associated with higher per capita family income in white people and lower income in black individuals. Results reinforce that structural racism reduces the benefits of educational mobility regarding life satisfaction and income in black and mixed-race people when compared to the benefits for white people.