Thesis presentation - Abraham García González

This doctoral thesis examines the relationship between inequality dynamics and the health of Spain's contemporary population through a life course and social mobility lens.

The study aims to identify the mechanisms by which social position tied to both origin and destination shapes people health. The core hypothesis holds that people's health suffers direct effects from their own social position and indirect ones from their parents’ position as origin influences destination.

To test this, the study employed a mixed-methods approach consisting of interconnected techniques.

First it describes health inequities by occupation, education, sex, and region, variables that stood out across results.

Second it explores socioeconomic-health links from an intergenerational angle using a structured typology.

Third it assesses causal impacts of origin, destination, and mobility with a Diagonal Reference Model (DRM).

Fourth it weighs interacting social determinants via structural equation modelling (SEM).

Fifth it conducts sociological discourse analysis to unpack cyclical ties between key health events and socioeconomic status.

Finally it benchmarks findings against classic and recent literature for the Spanish case. Thus, structural and microsocial perspectives have been integrated to identify social gradients and mechanisms that explain health inequalities in Spain, encompassing both social origin and social destination.

Day: 2026 September 08

Hour: 15:00

Place: B1/021 Hall of Degrees (Sala of events, meetings and boards) Faculty of Political Science and Sociology