Childhood Stunting and Schooling Attainment of Filipino Young Adults

Isabelita Bas, University of San Carlos

Studies have demonstrated the adverse effects of stunting on children’s school achievement. While those studies focused on the earlier years of schooling, this paper focuses on the effects of stunting at two years old on schooling attainment for young adults. The study uses data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey. A birth cohort of children born between May 1983 and April 1984 was followed from the time of their mother’s pregnancy until they were 20-22 years old. Schooling attainment is measured in number of completed grades/years of schooling, high school completion and college completion. Linear and logistic regressions are used to determine the association of stunting with schooling attainment, considering other individual, parental, household, and community factors. These associations are examined separately for males and females. Stunting at age two is associated with lower number of years of schooling and a reduced likelihood of college completion for females.