Childhood conditions that predict survival to advanced ages among African–Americans

This paper investigates the social and economic circumstances of childhood that predict the probability of survival to age 85 among African–Americans. It uses a unique study design in which survivors are linked to their records in U.S. Censuses of 1900 and 1910. A control group of age and race-matched children is drawn from Public Use Samples for these censuses. It concludes that the factors most predictive of survival are farm background, having literate parents, and living in a two-parent household. Results support the interpretation that death risks are positively correlated over the life cycle.