Educational attainment and self-rated health in contemporary China: A survey-based study in 2010

•Educational attainment promotes self-rated health.•The health-promotion effect of education is stronger among males and rural residents.•Education promotes health by providing better work and economic conditions.•Education promotes health by cultivating a greater sense of self-control.•Education promotes health by promoting moderate drinking.

Drawing on a nationwide representative data from the Chinese General Social Survey 2010, this research examines the relationship between educational attainment and self-rated health in mainland China. It is shown that educational attainment can significantly promote an individual's self-rated health. Besides, the positive effect of educational attainment on self-rated health is stronger for males and rural residents. Finally, using mediation test, we find that educational attainment can promote an individual's self-rated health by providing better work and economic condition, cultivating a higher level of the sense of self-control, encouraging individuals to pay more attention to potential health issues, raising the frequencies of exercise, and increasing the frequencies of moderate drinking. Nevertheless, neither the access to medical insurance nor the frequencies of smoking significantly mediates between education and the perception of health status.