@article {12544, title = {The Cost of Widowhood: A Matching Study of Process and Event}, journal = {SocArXiv Papers}, year = {Forthcoming}, abstract = {Widowhood is a common life transition entailing far-reaching consequences. We examine the consequences of widowhood in a novel way by assessing the consequences of bereavement for meaningful comparison groups allowing us to evaluate the impact of bereavement before and after the event. The analysis of the cost of widowhood for mental health and economic wellbeing focuses on two scenarios: unexpected and expected widowhood. The first scenario models a two-period process in which effects of widowhood occur only after the event. The second models a three-period process in which effects of widowhood also occur before spousal loss. US Health and Retirement Study data and a combination of random-coefficient modelling, propensity score matching, and regressions are used to estimate the consequences of widowhood from ten years before to six years after spousal loss. Results on mental health show a slow but full recovery for unexpected widowhood, but larger and lasting declines for expected widowhood. Findings on economic wellbeing show sizable losses for expected widowhood due to the economic cost of the pre-widowhood period. In sum, the impact of widowhood is smaller for unexpected compared to expected events. Our approach advances knowledge about spousal loss, but also research on life events more generally.}, keywords = {depression, economic wellbeing, life course, Widowhood}, doi = {10.31235/osf.io/t8jef}, author = {Van Winkle, Zachary and Thomas Leopold} } @article {13830, title = {Functional limitation among middle age and older adults: Exploring cross-national gender disparities.}, journal = {Archives of Gerontology Geriatrics}, volume = {123}, year = {Forthcoming}, pages = {105410}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: Functional limitations are prevalent among aging demographics, especially women. Structural and health factors, which vary worldwide, influence rates of functional limitations. Yet, gender disparities in functional limitation remain unclear in a global context.

METHODS: We use 2018 data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) international family of studies with respondents ages 50-64 and (n = 87,479) and 65-89 (n = 92,145) to investigate gender disparities in large muscle functional limitation (LMFL) across 10 countries/regions using mixed effects logistic regression, with special attention to structural indicators of inequality and health.

RESULTS: Among both women and men, LMFL was generally higher in China, India, Mexico, United States, and Baltic States than in England, Scandinavia, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe. The gender disparity in LMFL gradually declined at older ages in India, China, Mexico, and United States, while this disparity gradually increased at older ages throughout Europe. Among middle age respondents, the greater risk of LMFL for women in countries/regions with a high GII was no longer observed after accounting for comorbidities. Among older respondents, a lower risk of LMFL for women in countries/regions with a high GII was not observed until accounting for comorbidities.

DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that rates of LMFL are higher in middle-income countries than high-income countries, especially among women, and in countries with a higher GII. In addition, consideration of comorbidities was integral to these relationships. Thus, national/regional contexts inform differential rates of functional limitation, particularly as it relates to gender.

}, keywords = {comorbidities, Disablement Process, Gender inequality, global aging, life course}, issn = {1872-6976}, doi = {10.1016/j.archger.2024.105410}, author = {Burns, Shane D and Ailshire, Jennifer A and Crimmins, Eileen M} } @article {REYES2022102783, title = {Intergenerational support and retirement timing among older men and women by race/ethnicity}, journal = {Social Science Research}, year = {Forthcoming}, abstract = {Retirement timing is associated with health and economic outcomes for older adults. However, it is unclear how the pressures of supporting older parents and young adult children are associated with retirement. This study uses a life course perspective to consider how the linked lives of working older adults and their support of adult children and parents are associated with retirement. Cox proportional hazard models are estimated using the Health and Retirement Study (1992{\textendash}2014) to assess the relationship between intergenerational support exchanges and retirement timing by gender and race/ethnicity. Providing most types of intergenerational support and especially providing time support are associated with an increased risk of retirement. Unlike all other respondents, Hispanic women providing intergenerational time support have similar retirement risks as those not providing any intergenerational support. These differing patterns by race/ethnicity suggest that earlier life course trajectories may shape older adults{\textquoteright} ability to respond to family needs.}, keywords = {Family, intergenerational support, life course, Race/ethnicity, Retirement}, issn = {0049-089X}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2022.102783}, author = {Adriana M. Reyes} } @article {12669, title = {Intersecting Early-Life Selection Mechanisms: Socio-Historical Changes in Racially Stratified Effects of Education on Functional Limitations in the United States.}, journal = {Journal of Aging and Health}, year = {Forthcoming}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: Scant research has focused on the role of in shaping intersecting early-life selection mechanisms and their impacts on racially stratified effects of education on health across cohorts.

METHOD: Drawing from the , this study fitted negative binomial regression models to assess the impacts of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) on the relationship between education and functional limitations for Black and White adults across birth cohorts ( = 16,269, born 1931-1959).

RESULTS: The disparities between Black adults and White adults in impacts of childhood SES on both education and functional limitations were more pronounced in recent cohorts. The racial stratification in the impacts of education on functional limitations was documented across cohorts. However, after adjusting for childhood SES, this stratification narrowed considerably in recent cohorts.

DISCUSSION: This study underscores the role of a context in shaping the effects of education on health at the intersection of race and cohort.

}, keywords = {Education, Intersectionality, later-life health inequalities, life course}, issn = {1552-6887}, doi = {10.1177/08982643221124657}, author = {Bhatta, Tirth R} } @article {13577, title = {Race/Ethnicity, Nativity, and Gender Disparities in Mental Health Trajectories from Mid- to Later-Life: A Life Course-Intersectional Approach.}, journal = {Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities}, year = {Forthcoming}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have highlighted mental health disparities based on race/ethnicity, nativity, and gender across different life stages. However, few have investigated how the intersectionality of these factors influences mental health trajectories during midlife to late life. This study fills this gap by adopting a life course-intersectional approach, viewing mental health trajectories as dynamic processes shaped by the combined influences of race/ethnicity, nativity, and gender. It explores social, psychological, and physiological pathways contributing to these disparities.

DESIGN: Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2018; N = 38,049 observations) and growth curve models, this study examines how intra-individual trends in depressive symptoms (measured as CES-D scale, 07) are influenced by the intersection of race/ethnicity, nativity, and gender. It also investigates the impact of objective and subjective social isolation and physical health on group disparities in mental health trajectories.

RESULTS: The findings reveal that, during mid- to early late-life, most Black and Hispanic Americans experience higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to their White counterparts (disparities ranging from 0.184 to 0.463 for men and 0.117 to 0.439 for women). However, this disadvantage diminishes for US-born Hispanic men and US-born Black women (0.014-0.031 faster decrease rates compared to US-born White), while it intensifies for Hispanic immigrants (0.017-0.018 slower decrease rates compared to US-born White) in advanced ages. Mediation analysis demonstrates that both social isolation and physical health contribute to these disparities, with physical health explaining a larger portion, particularly in differences between immigrant Hispanic women and US-born Whites.

CONCLUSION: This study underscores the importance of a life course-intersectional approach in understanding mental health disparities. It emphasizes the need for improved social welfare systems and community-level interventions targeting the specific challenges faced by older Hispanic immigrants, especially women who encounter multiple forms of oppression.

}, keywords = {Depressive symptoms, gender, Intersectionality, life course, nativity, Race/ethnicity}, issn = {2196-8837}, doi = {10.1007/s40615-023-01808-x}, author = {Liu, Jingwen and Lin, Zhiyong} } @article {13822, title = {Growing up in poverty, growing old in frailty: The life course shaping of health in America, Britain, and Europe {\textendash} a prospective and retrospective study}, year = {2024}, institution = {UK NIHR Policy Research Unit on Healthy Ageing}, abstract = {Background: Childhood poverty is directly associated with many health outcomes in late life irrespective of youth health and of variation in health systems. The childhood poor in America, Britain and Europe have reported worse cognitive, muscle and mental functions in their fifties to nineties. But it is not known whether they have higher probabilities of experiencing frailty as their childhood recollections are likely to be erroneous. Materials and methods: Some 79428 adults aged 50 and older retrospectively recalled their childhood conditions at ten and underwent prospective examinations to construct their Fried{\textquoteright}s frailty phenotype. Childhood conditions in ELSA and SHARE include number of books, number of rooms, number of people, presence of running hot or cold water, fixed bath, indoor lavatory and central heating. Across in America, these are mostly replaced with financial hardship indicators including having to move because of family debt. Childhood poverty is a latent construct of error-laced recollection and its distal fully adjusted association with frailty phenotype is estimated with fixed effects probit model. Results: Childhood poverty associates with higher probabilities of being frail (0.1097 {\textpm} 0.0169, p < 0.001) in 29 countries of America, Britain and Europe. Furthermore, women have higher probabilities of being frail (0.3051 {\textpm} 0.0152, p < 0.001). Age, education, wealth, marital status and youth illness exert influences on the probabilities of being frail. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using random effects model and by stratifying on sex. Discussion: Evidence is mounting that childhood can last a life time, affecting cognitive and muscle function, mental health and now frailty. This evidence calls for urgent actions to eliminate child poverty on account of its lifelong rewards. (271 + 4476 words)}, keywords = {America, Britain, childhood poverty, Europe, fixed effects, Frailty, life course, random effects}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.07.24303906}, author = {Gindo Tampubolon} } @article {12537, title = {Aging with Incarceration Histories: An Intersectional Examination of Incarceration and Health Outcomes among Older Adults.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B}, year = {2023}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Experiences with incarceration are linked to poor mental and physical health across the life course. The purpose of this research is to examine whether incarceration histories are associated with worse physical and mental health among older adults. We apply an intersectionality framework and consider how the intersection of sexism and racism leads to unequal health outcomes following incarceration among women and people of color.

METHODS: We employ two measures of health (i.e., number of depressive symptoms and physical limitations) to broadly capture mental and physical health. Using data from Waves 11 and 12 of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we estimated a series of general linear models (GLM) to analyze differences in health by incarceration history, gender/sex, and race/ethnicity.

RESULTS: Findings suggest that experiences with incarceration are associated with a greater number of physical limitations and more depressive symptoms among older men and women, net of sociodemographic characteristics, early-life conditions, and lifetime stressful events. Formerly incarcerated women, particularly women of color, had more physical limitations and depressive symptoms, relative to other groups.

DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that incarceration histories have far-reaching health implications. Older women of color with incarceration histories experience markedly high levels of physical limitations and depressive symptoms in later life.

}, keywords = {health, incarceration, Intersectionality, life course}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbac088}, author = {Latham-Mintus, Kenzie and Deck, Monica M and Nelson, Elizabeth} } @article {12611, title = {Early-Life Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Health in Late Middle-Age: Importance of Heterogeneous Income Trajectories.}, journal = {Research on Aging}, year = {2023}, abstract = {

This paper aims to investigate heterogeneous income changes and whether the income trajectories moderate effects of early socioeconomic disadvantage on health in late middle age. The sample was restricted to 9,056 middle-aged adults from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2010). Through a latent class growth analysis, six patterns of income changes were identified: constantly low, constantly moderate, constantly high \& increasing, high to low, moderate to high, and high to moderate. The Constantly low group more frequently displayed depressive symptoms if exposed to early socioeconomic disadvantage and Constantly low income mobility. Individuals who experienced early socioeconomic disadvantage and a downward income mobility in middle age tended to have multiple chronic conditions while there was no moderating effect of income changes for mobility functional limitations. These findings suggest that not all health outcomes are programmed in early life: Disadvantage can be somewhat alleviated through stable and better later-life economic status.

}, keywords = {health, income trajectory, late middle-age, life course}, issn = {1552-7573}, doi = {10.1177/01640275221117304}, author = {Kwon, Eunsun and Park, Sojung and Lee, Hyunjoo} } @article {12375, title = {Exploring the Relationship Between Engagement in Enriching Early-Life Activities During Adolescence and Cognition in Later-Life: Results From the Health and Retirement Study.}, journal = {Research on Aging}, year = {2023}, abstract = {

The cognitive benefits associated with mid- to late-life engagement have been demonstrated in several studies. However, the link between engagement in enriching early-life activities (EELAs) during adolescence and later-life cognition has been relatively unexplored in major epidemiological studies. We examined the EELA-cognition relationship in a nationally representative sample of adults aged 50+. A subset of Health and Retirement Study respondents (=3482) completed cognitive tests and returned a retrospective early-life activity inventory. Linear regression models analyzed the EELA-cognition relationship, and multiple imputation addressed missingness. Each additional EELA was associated with a 0.36 point higher cognitive score (95\% CI: 0.24, 0.47). This relationship remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders (B=0.16; 95\% CI: [0.06, 0.26]). EELA engagement was associated with better later-life cognitive performance. This study is understood to be the first to examine the EELA-cognition relationship using a large, nationally representative dataset. The findings highlight the importance of early-life engagement during an important developmental period (e.g., adolescence).

}, keywords = {adolescence, cognitive function, early-life enrichment, life course, Lifestyle activities}, issn = {1552-7573}, doi = {10.1177/01640275221085660}, author = {Crane, Breanna M and Bandeen-Roche, Karen and Carlson, Michelle C} } @article {12940, title = {Gender Differences in Depressive Symptoms Following Child Death in Later Life.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {78}, year = {2023}, pages = {1591-1603}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: This study examined short- and long-term psychological adjustment to parental bereavement in later life for mothers and fathers.

METHOD: Using 9 waves of data from the United States (1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study), I estimated trajectories of mothers{\textquoteright} and fathers{\textquoteright} depressive symptoms surrounding child death in later life, highlighting gender differences in adjustment. Moderation analyses were performed to uncover heterogeneous trajectories across parental characteristics.

RESULTS: Mothers were more likely to experience child death and reported higher depressive symptoms prior to parental bereavement than fathers. Mothers and fathers who lost a child reported an increase in depressive symptoms that diminished over time. The short-term elevation in depressive symptoms was marginally greater for mothers than fathers, but depressive symptoms declined at a faster rate for mothers than fathers in the years following the death. These counterbalancing changes resulted in mothers and fathers returning to their respective pre-bereavement levels of depressive symptoms between 2 and 4 years post-bereavement. Parental age moderated trajectories distinctly by gender, and the presence of surviving children buffered the impact of child death on depressive symptoms for mothers but not fathers.

DISCUSSION: Mothers more often experience child death in later life and their adjustment process differs from that of fathers, underscoring the salience of gender in shaping how older parents respond to the death of a child. Older parents and mothers without surviving children are vulnerable to prolonged elevations in depressive symptoms following the death of a child in later life.

}, keywords = {life course, parental bereavement, population heterogeneity, psychological adjustment}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbac189}, author = {Mellencamp, Kagan A} } @article {12787, title = {The Long Shadow: Early Life Adversity and Later Life Loneliness in the United States.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B}, volume = {78}, year = {2023}, pages = {370-382}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: This study assesses how early life adversity (ELA) is associated with later life loneliness among those aged 55 and over in the U.S. We consider multiple domains of ELA to understand domain-specific associations between ELA and later life loneliness.

METHODS: Using data from the 2008 to 2016 rounds of Health and Retirement Study (n = 29,661 person-waves (weighted)), we evaluate whether and how different domains of ELA are associated with loneliness, and how their relationships are explained through adulthood conditions and are dependent upon educational attainment.

RESULTS: Our analyses demonstrate significant and distinctive relationships between various domains of ELA and later life loneliness. Whereas adulthood conditions largely explain positive associations between loneliness with some domains of ELA (socioeconomic disadvantages and chronic diseases), disruptive home environment, risky adolescent behaviors, and impairment during childhood are still related to a higher level of loneliness after controlling for adulthood conditions. We also find empirical evidence supporting educational differences in relationships between some ELA domains and later life loneliness. Our results also show that the associations between ELA and later life loneliness differ between subdimensions of loneliness (emotional versus social loneliness).

DISCUSSION: This study underscores ELA as an important early life risk factor contributing to later life loneliness. Our findings suggest that policy interventions to reduce adverse childhood experiences may alleviate individuals{\textquoteright} exposure to loneliness in later life.

}, keywords = {Childhood adversity, life course, Loneliness}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbac164}, author = {Furuya, Shiro and Wang, Jia} } @article {13602, title = {Race, gender, and cohort differences in the educational experiences of Black and White Americans}, journal = {Population Research and Policy Review}, volume = {42}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Federal legislation and judicial intervention led to significant transformation in the U.S. education system during the early to mid-twentieth century. These changes may differentiate older adults in their experiences of aging, particularly at the intersection of race, gender, and cohort, but are not well documented among current cohorts of older adults. Our study addresses this gap by providing rich, descriptive information on the educational experiences of U.S. adults who attended primary or secondary school between 1915 and 1977. We used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative, prospective study of U.S. adults over age 50 years. The HRS collected information on respondents{\textquoteright} schooling history and experiences through a Life History Mail Survey (LHMS). We restricted our sample to age-eligible HRS-LHMS respondents who self-identified as non-Hispanic White or non-Hispanic Black and completed at least 75\% of their primary or secondary schooling in the U.S. (n = 10,632). Educational experiences, defined as pre-k to post-secondary education, varied across cohort, regardless of race or gender. Greater course offerings, improvements in learning support, and increasing exposure to integrated schools occurred across successive cohorts. We found the highest rates of enrollment in college preparatory curriculum and foreign-language courses as well as diagnosed learning differences in cohorts born after 1948. Among White adults, many of the gender differences in educational experiences documented in the oldest cohort were still found among the most recent cohort. Few gender differences, however, were found for Black adults regardless of cohort. Conversely, most race inequities in educational experiences persisted. Such inequities may be an important source of continued differences in experiences of aging observed across demographic groups. {\textcopyright} 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.}, keywords = {Educational experiences, life course, life history, Schools}, doi = {10.1007/s11113-023-09831-w}, author = {Walsemann, Katrina M. and Fisk, Calley E. and Farina, Mateo P. and Abbruzzi, Emily and Jennifer A Ailshire} } @article {12048, title = {Sociodemographic dynamics and age trajectories of depressive symptoms among adults in mid- and later life: a cohort perspective.}, journal = {Aging \& Mental Health}, year = {2023}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the age trajectories of depressive symptoms across multiple cohort groups who were in middle and late adulthood; examined sociodemographic differences in these trajectories; and investigated how relevant factors contributed to depressive symptoms trends of different cohorts.

METHODS: Drawing on data from the 1994-2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we used growth curve models to examine the age patterns of depressive symptoms, changes in sociodemographic gaps in depressive symptoms trajectories, and predictors of changes in depressive symptoms.

RESULTS: In general, adults{\textquoteright} depressive symptoms started high in middle-adulthood, declined in young-old life, increased moderately in mid-old life, and peaked in old-old life; In detail, more nuanced cohort-specific age trajectories of depressive symptoms were observed, challenging the prevailing assumption of a common age trajectory of depressive symptoms. Later-born cohorts displayed higher levels of depressive symptoms than earlier-born cohorts at observed ages. Second, we found intra-cohort sociodemographic differences in levels of depressive symptoms, but these differences{\textquoteright} growth rates varied by specific factors. Regardless of the cohort group, as people age, the gender gap in depressive symptoms persisted but the partnership gap reduced. A widening educational gap across cohorts was observed, but it declined with age in some cohorts.

CONCLUSION: Results suggest more evidence for the persistent inequality and age-as-leveler hypotheses rather than the cumulative (dis-)advantage hypothesis.

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2021.2010182 .

}, keywords = {Health Inequality, life course, Mental Health, psychological distress}, issn = {1364-6915}, doi = {10.1080/13607863.2021.2010182}, author = {Luo, Mengsha and Li, Lydia and Liu, Zhen and Li, Angran} } @mastersthesis {13523, title = {Three Essays on Intergenerational Transfers}, volume = {Ph.D.}, year = {2023}, pages = {163}, school = {Syracuse University}, type = {phd}, address = {New York}, abstract = {Intergenerational transfers of money, time, and other resources are major drivers of wealth inequality in the United States (U.S.). Wealth confers a wide array of advantages, from financial security to social prestige, power, and health. Wealth also can be used to accumulate more wealth. Given that intergenerational transfers generate economic inequality, this three-essay dissertation will seek to examine the causes and consequences of intergenerational transfers in the U.S. The first two essays are devoted to the understanding of the precedents of intergenerational transfers, while the last essay assess the consequence of intergenerational transfers on mental health.Essay 1: Cumulative inequality theory (CIT) posits that disadvantage experienced in early life may not only adversely affect one{\textquoteright}s life course, it may also shape one{\textquoteright}s ability to provide assistance to the next generation. Since intergenerational exchanges can either promote or set back the next generation{\textquoteright}s success, this study therefore aims to determine how childhood disadvantages of parents are associated with the inter vivos downward transfers. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Childhood Retrospective Circumstances Survey and Rosters and Transfers Module were used to estimate linear regression models. Childhood experiences were measured in the following ways: an aggregate index, categorical variables, or as separate domains. Following CIT, domains included were economic, psychosocial (family, peer), environmental, and health. Downward transfers considered in this study were measured in terms of time transfers and money transfers in the past year, for aid in schooling, for home purchase, and for other purposes. Controlling for adult children{\textquoteright}s characteristics that reflect needs for parental assistance, and upward time and money transfers to account for reciprocity, the results indicate that parent{\textquoteright}s assistance to their adult children vary by their early-life experiences, and some childhood domains matter more (i.e., economic, family, environmental) than others (i.e., peer, health). Those with less affluent upbringing gave significantly more time transfers but less money to their adult children. Money earmarked for schooling purposes were at most $9,000 less for those with the worst level of childhood misfortunes. The forces that shape parental assistance to adult children, therefore, date as far back as the grandparent generation.Essay 2: Whether private intergenerational transfers crowd out or crowd in public welfare, have been subject to debate for almost half a century. Crowding out considers public and private transfers as substitutes, whereas when crowding in occurs the public sector frees up family{\textquoteright}s resources via social welfare provisions, allowing families to transfer resources amongst their members. Often, studies on this topic either use cross-country variation from different welfare regimes or average social welfare expenditure per capita, without consideration of the varied social welfare experiences among givers and receivers. This is the first study to document how parental financial transfers and time transfers in the form of grandchild care are associated with the relative welfare experiences of the parent (giver) and the adult child (beneficiary) by exploiting the heterogeneity of public welfare across U.S. states. Parent-child dyadic data come from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a longitudinal and nationally representative study of older adults in the U.S. I linked data from the HRS respondent file and the child-level file constructed by the RAND Corporation with state-specific public welfare expenditures per capita from the Government Finance Database. Controlling for parent, adult child, and reciprocity related determinants of downward transfers, mixed effects logistic regressions clustered by households showed that compared to dyads who both live in a state with low levels of welfare generosity: (1) dyads whose parents live in a less generous state compared to their children have lower odds of downward money and time transfers and (2) dyads whose parents live in a more generous state while the child lives in a relatively less generous states have lower odds of providing both money and time transfers. The results from this study provide partial support for both crowding out and crowding in while implying support for both altruistic and selfish transfer motives. These mixed results call for scholars to reevaluate the consensus of the crowding in hypothesis as the main explanation of downward transfers of money and time from aging parents to adult children, and suggest that better data on both givers{\textquoteright} and receivers{\textquoteright} public welfare experiences are needed to fully contextualize family transfers.Essay 3: Intergenerational transfers are potential social determinants of health, as multiple generations coexisting has become a commonplace in aging societies and austere social protections push families to support their members. This study therefore aims to assess the association between intergenerational transfers between parents, adult children, and other kin, and depressive symptoms among U.S. older adults aged 51+ using data from the Health and Retirement Study waves 2010-2018. Two subsamples were constructed to account for the effect of kin: (1) respondents with at least one adult child and deceased parents/ parents-in-law, and (2) respondents with at least one adult child and one living parent/ parent-in-law throughout the study period. Transfers were categorized as either giving or receiving money and time. Net of relevant sociodemographic factors, random effects logistic regression models revealed that for both subsamples, the odds of having high depressive symptoms were greater for those who have given money transfers. Receiving money transfers and time transfers were also found to be detrimental for mental health. The findings are consistent with the stress process model and also provide partial support for economic exchange theory and contingency exchange. Understanding the factors that are related to older adult well-being is vital as this age group is at risk of mental health decline due to the life course challenges that typically occur in advanced ages like social isolation, bereavement, as well as illnesses and functional limitations.}, keywords = {0347:Mental health, 0351:Gerontology, 0626:Sociology, 0938:Demography, childhood circumstances, Demography, depression, Gerontology, Intergenerational transfers, life course, Mental Health, Older Adults, Sociology, Transfer motives}, isbn = {9798380339124}, url = {https://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/three-essays-on-intergenerational-transfers/docview/2864812703/se-2}, author = {Cheng,Kent J. G.} } @article {11487, title = {Black-White Differences in the Link Between Offspring College Attainment and Parents{\textquoteright} Depressive Symptom Trajectories.}, journal = {Research on Aging}, volume = {44}, year = {2022}, pages = {123-135}, abstract = {

This study examines whether the relationship between children{\textquoteright}s college attainment and their parents{\textquoteright} mental health differs for Black and White parents as they age. Data come from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and multilevel growth curve models are used to assess parents{\textquoteright} depressive symptom trajectories. Results indicated that parents over age 50 whose children all completed college had significantly lower initial levels of depressive symptoms than those with no college-educated children. The initial benefit was stronger for Blacks than Whites. Results stratified further by parents{\textquoteright} education show that Black parents at nearly all levels of schooling experienced stronger returns to their mental health from children{\textquoteright}s college completion compared to White parents, for whom only those with a high school education showed an inverse association between offspring education and depression symptoms. The findings underscore how offspring education is a potential resource for reducing disparities in health across families.

}, keywords = {intergenerational relationships, life course, Mental Health, race}, issn = {1552-7573}, doi = {10.1177/0164027521997999}, author = {Jenjira J Yahirun and Connor M Sheehan and Krysia N Mossakowski} } @article {12678, title = {Childhood adversity and cognitive impairment in later life.}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {13}, year = {2022}, pages = {935254}, abstract = {

Objectives: This study examined the association between childhood adversity and cognitive impairment in later life and explored the potential moderation effect of gender and race.

Methods: The study sample included 15,133 participants of the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2016 surveys) who had complete data on key study measures and were more than 50. The outcome variable is a dichotomous indicator of cognitive impairment as assessed by the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status for self-respondents and the 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly for proxies. A total of six childhood adversity indicators included grade retention, parental substance abuse, physical abuse, trouble with the police, moving due to financial hardship, and receipt of help due to financial hardship in early life. The estimation of the association between childhood adversity and cognitive impairment involved Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: Grade retention had the largest effect on incident cognitive impairment (HR = 1.3, 95\% CI = 1.23-1.38, < 0.001), followed by physical abuse by a parent (HR = 1.10, 95\% CI = 1.00-1.20, = 0.001). The impact of grade retention was more detrimental to women than men (interaction term HR = 0.89, 95\% CI = 0.80-1.00, = 0.048, female as the reference). Parental substance abuse was associated with a lower risk of incident cognitive impairment for most racial groups (HR = 0.89, 95\% CI = 0.83-0.95, = 0.001), but this association was reversed in "non-Hispanic other" race, consisting mainly of Asians (HR = 1.54, 95\% CI = 1.05-2.26, = 0.025).

Discussion: Some aspects of childhood adversity continue to harm cognitive functioning in later life, while some events may have the opposite effect, with evidence of heterogeneity across gender and race.

}, keywords = {ACE, Adverse childhood events, Childhood adversity, cognitive impairment, Dementia, life course}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2022.935254}, author = {Xiang, Xiaoling and Cho, Joonyoung and Sun, Yihang and Wang, Xiafei} } @article {12444, title = {Cohort Trends in the Burden of Multiple Chronic Conditions Among Aging U.S. Adults.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {1867-1879}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Multimorbidity, also referred to as multiple chronic conditions (MCCs), is the concurrent presence of 2 or more chronic health conditions. Increasing multimorbidity represents a substantial threat to the health of aging populations. Recent trends suggest greater risk of poor health and mortality among later-born cohorts, yet we are unaware of work examining cohort differences in multimorbidity among aging U.S. adults.

METHODS: We examine intercohort variation in MCC burden in adults aged 51 years and older using 20 years (n = 33,598; 1998-2018) of repeated assessment drawn from the Health and Retirement Study. The index of MCCs included 9 chronic conditions (heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, lung disease, cancer excluding skin cancer, high depressive symptoms, and cognitive impairment). We used linear mixed models with various approaches to estimate age/period/cohort effects to model intercohort patterns in MCC burden. We also explored variation in the specific conditions driving cohort differences in multimorbidity.

RESULTS: More recent cohorts had greater MCC burden and developed multimorbidity at earlier ages than those born to prior generations. The burden of chronic conditions was patterned by life-course sociodemographic factors and childhood health for all cohorts. Among adults with multimorbidity, arthritis and hypertension were the most prevalent conditions for all cohorts, and there was evidence that high depressive symptoms and diabetes contributed to the observed cohort differences in multimorbidity risk.

DISCUSSION: Our results suggest increasing multimorbidity burden among more recently born cohorts of aging U.S. adults and should inform policy to address diminishing health in aging populations.

}, keywords = {Baby Boom cohort, life course, multimorbidity, population aging}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbac070}, author = {Bishop, Nicholas J and Haas, Steven A and Qui{\~n}ones, Ana R} } @article {12639, title = {Constructing a Work History Dataset of Jobs Held During Early and Middle Adulthood Using the Health and Retirement Study}, year = {2022}, institution = {UCLA: California Center for Population Research }, address = {Los Angeles, CA}, abstract = {The Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) (https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/about) collects extensive data on current employment and occupation at each wave but data on occupations prior to the start of the survey are limited to an abbreviated job history in each respondent{\textquoteright}s first interview focused on recently held jobs. Therefore, using HRS data to link employment earlier in respondents{\textquoteright} lives to socioeconomic, health, and other outcomes at older ages has been infeasible. The RAND Corporation created a dataset from the HRS Core and Exit Interviews called the RAND HRS Cross-Year Longitudinal file which is used by many researchers working with HRS. This dataset contains a variable called the "longest job held" for each respondent. However, this variable is the longest job held among the limited subset of jobs reported in HRS (most of which are recent) and not necessarily the longest job that the respondent has held to date. In 2017, HRS conducted a Life History Mail Survey (LHMS) of HRS respondents who had participated in the 2016 Core interview. The LHMS was conducted in three parts which, combined, include all of the 2016 Core interview respondents. The LHMS questionnaire was a pencil-paper survey completed and returned by respondents and included a grid asking }, keywords = {Employment, Functional limitations, life course, Occupation}, url = {https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3bz58411}, author = {Park, Sung S. and Pratt, Boriana and Pebley, Anne R. and Goldman, Noreen and Sheftel, Mara Getz and Andrasfay, Theresa and Lee, Keunbok} } @article {12103, title = {The destabilization and destandardization of social roles across the adult life course: Considering aggregate social role instability and its variability from a historical-developmental perspective.}, journal = {Developmental Psychology Publisher: American Psychological Association}, volume = {58}, year = {2022}, pages = {589-605}, abstract = {

Existing research focused on social role destabilization (historical increases in role instability) and destandardization (historical increases in variability of role instability) has primarily focused on discrete social roles during discrete periods of development. Building on this work, we applied a macro approach to elucidate the extent to which historical trends toward destabilization and destandardization are occurring at the aggregate among a key set of social roles (union formation, education, residential independence, and employment) and across the whole of adulthood. Applying a historical-developmental approach, we also document how historical trends toward destabilization and destandardization vary by age. We used 3 historical, longitudinal data sets: the Monitoring the Future study ( = 69,464; 55.4\% women; 75.5\% white), the Panel Study of Income Dynamics ( = 45,001; 51.4\% women; 54.3\% white), and The Health and Retirement Study ( = 30,913; 53.6\% women; 75.6\% white) that collectively cover the entire adult life course and over a century of U.S. birth cohorts. We found that aggregate destabilization and destandardization have occurred across the entirety of adulthood, although trends appear more pronounced at either end of the adult life course and the specific roles driving both trends vary across the adult life course. Findings were robust for educational attainment, and destabilization and destandardization were more pronounced among women. Findings highlight the importance of considering social role changes at the aggregate and singularly, and the need to evaluate social role changes in any 1 period of adulthood in conjunction with those occurring in other periods of adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

}, keywords = {life course, social roles}, issn = {1939-0599}, doi = {10.1037/dev0001303}, author = {Jager, Justin and Amy Rauer and Staff, Jeremy and Lansford, Jennifer E and Pettit, Gregory S and Schulenberg, John E} } @article {12294, title = {The Effect of Physical Limitations on Depressive Symptoms over the Life Course: Is Optimism a Protective Buffer?}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {1661-1673}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: We examined the extent to which optimism buffers the effects of physical limitations on depressive symptoms, across four mid- and later-life age groups (ages 40-49, 50-64, 65-74, 75+ at baseline). Analyses are motivated by stress theories, which hold that the protective effects of coping resources are evidenced only at high levels of stress. We further explore whether these purportedly protective effects diminish with age, as health-related stressor(s) intensify and become irreversible.

METHODS: We use data from two waves (2004-06 and 2013-14) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS, n = 4,515) and Midlife in the United States (MIDUS, n = 2,138). We estimate OLS regression models with three-way interaction terms to examine prospectively the benefits of optimism as a coping resource for persons with physical limitations across four age groups. Physical limitations are assessed with a composite measure encompassing mobility and activity of daily living (ADL) limitations.

RESULTS: In HRS and MIDUS, persons with 3+ limitations reported significantly more depressive symptoms than persons with 0-2 limitations, yet these disparities diminished at higher levels of optimism. Buffering effects of optimism vary by age. For midlife and young-old persons with 3+ limitations, optimism is strongly and inversely related to depressive symptoms at follow-up. Comparable protective effects are not evident among oldest sample members.

DISCUSSION: Stress and coping models should consider more fully factors that limit older adults{\textquoteright} capacity to deploy purportedly protective personal resources. Investments in structural or institutional supports may be more effective than interventions to enhance positive thinking.

}, keywords = {Depressive symptoms, Disability, Functional Limitation, life course, Optimism, Stress}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbac058}, author = {Choi, Shinae L and Namkung, Eun Ha and Carr, Deborah} } @article {12005, title = {Precarious Work in Midlife: Long-Term Implications for the Health and Mortality of Women and Men.}, journal = {Journal of Health and Social Behavior}, volume = {63}, year = {2022}, pages = {142-158}, abstract = {

Although prior research documents adverse health consequences of precarious work, we know less about how chronic exposure to precarious work in midlife shapes health trajectories among aging adults. The present study uses longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study to consider how histories of precarious work in later midlife (ages 50-65) shape trajectories of health and mortality risk after age 65. Results show that greater exposure to unemployment, job insecurity, and insufficient work hours in midlife predicts more chronic conditions and functional limitations after age 65. Characteristics of precarious work also predict increased mortality risk in later life. Findings indicate few gender differences in linkages between precarious work and health; however, women are more likely than men to experience job insecurity throughout midlife. Because precarious work is unlikely to abate, results suggest the need to reduce the health consequences of working in precarious jobs.

}, keywords = {gender, health, life course, Mortality, precarious work}, issn = {2150-6000}, doi = {10.1177/00221465211055090}, author = {Rachel Donnelly} } @article {12205, title = {Race inequity in school attendance across the Jim Crow South and its implications for Black-White disparities in trajectories of cognitive function among older adults.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {1467-1477}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Although education is a key determinant of cognitive function, its role in determining Black-White disparities in cognitive function is unclear. This may be due, in part, to data limitations that have made it difficult to account for systemic educational inequities in the Jim Crow South experienced by older cohorts, including differences in the number of days Black students attended school compared to their White counterparts or Black peers in better funded southern states. We determine if accounting for differential rates of school attendance across race, years, and states in the Jim Crow South better illuminates Black-White disparities in trajectories of cognitive function.

METHODS: We linked historical state-level data on school attendance from the 1919/20 to 1953/54 Biennial Surveys of Education to the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative, longitudinal study of U.S. adults over age 50. We restricted our sample to Black and White older adults who attended school in the Jim Crow South and began primary school in/after 1919/20 and completed primary/secondary school by 1953/1954 (n=4,343). We used linear mixed models to estimate trajectories of total cognitive function, episodic memory, and working memory.

RESULTS: Self-reported years of schooling explained 28-33\% of the Black-White disparity in level of cognitive function, episodic memory, and working memory. Duration of school, a measure that accounted for differential rates of school attendance, explained 41-55\% of the Black-White disparity in these outcomes.

DISCUSSION: Our study highlights the importance of using a more refined measure of schooling for understanding the education--cognitive health relationship.

}, keywords = {cognitive function, Education, historical data, life course, Racial Disparities, school segregation}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbac026}, author = {Katrina M Walsemann and Urena, Stephanie and Mateo P Farina and Jennifer A Ailshire} } @article {12563, title = {The Role of Fertility and Partnership History in Later-life Cognition}, journal = {Ageing International}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Cognitive ageing continues to be a significant burden for society and a primary contributor to individuals{\textquoteright} diminishing independence and quality of life. Therefore, improving our understanding of life-course influences on cognitive function is a necessity for public health. Parenthood and marriage are two such influences that may affect cognition in old age. Using the Health and Retirement Study, the relationship between family histories and cognitive functioning in adults in the {\textquoteleft}older{\textquoteright} age group in the United States is investigated through a sequence-analysis approach. The results show that most of the relationship between fertility and partnership history and cognition later in life is explained by childhood health and socioeconomic conditions, and current sociodemographic characteristics. However, those individuals who have never been married, and in particular those who have never been married and have had no children, report a significantly lower level of cognitive functioning in older age, especially women.}, keywords = {Ageing, Cognition, Family Trajectories, life course, Sequence analysis}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-022-09500-x}, author = {Sironi, Maria} } @article {11768, title = {The Roles of Gray Divorce and Subsequent Repartnering for Parent-Adult Child Relationships.}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology, Series B }, volume = {77}, year = {2022}, pages = {212-223}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: Divorce is now widespread in later life, yet little is known about how older adults and their adult children respond in the aftermath of gray divorce. Guided by the life course perspective, this study examines the consequences of gray divorce and subsequent repartnering for parent-adult child relationships from the parent{\textquoteright}s perspective.

METHOD: Using longitudinal data from the 1998-2014 Health and Retirement Study in the United States, we estimated growth curve models to compare fathers{\textquoteright} and mothers{\textquoteright} frequent contact with and financial support to their adult children prior to, during, and following gray divorce.

RESULTS: Gray divorce and repartnering had disparate effects on father- versus mother-adult child relationships. Following divorce, fathers{\textquoteright} frequent contact with their adult children decreased but financial support to their adult children increased. Fathers{\textquoteright} repartnering had an enduring negative effect on frequent contact with their children. Gray divorce did not alter mothers{\textquoteright} financial support to adult children and it actually increased interaction between mothers and adult children as the odds of frequent contact doubled upon divorce. Repartnering had no appreciable effects on mothers{\textquoteright} relationships with their adult children.

DISCUSSION: The results of our study are consistent with prior research showing that divorce creates a matrifocal tilt in our kinship system. The shifting dynamics of parent-adult child relationships in response to gray divorce and repartnering raise questions about whether gray divorced parents will be able to rely on their adult children for care as they age.

}, keywords = {downward financial transfers, frequent contact, gender, life course}, issn = {1758-5368}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbab139}, author = {Lin, I-Fen and Susan L. Brown and Kagan A Mellencamp} } @mastersthesis {12720, title = {The Social Pattern and Causes of Dementia Prevalence Decline in the United States}, volume = {Ph.D.}, year = {2022}, school = {University of Minnesota}, address = {Minneapolis, MN}, abstract = {Age-adjusted dementia prevalence has significantly declined in the United States over the last 25 years, despite little advancement in the biomedical treatment of Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s Disease or improvement in proximal dementia risk factors. In this dissertation, I analyze data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to improve current understanding of the descriptive trends and causal mechanisms underlying dementia prevalence decline. In my first study, I rebut the argument that dementia decline in the HRS is an artefact of unmeasured panel conditioning. I show that practice effects do not bias the estimated secular trend in dementia prevalence after accounting for selective panel attrition. In my second study, I argue that cohort trends in early life risk factors offer a more plausible explanation of the observed dementia improvement than period trends, which have been emphasized in previous research. In my third study, I empirically test the contribution of early life risk factors to cohort trends in dementia prevalence. I find that age- and sex-adjusted dementia prevalence declined 2.3 percentage points per 10-year increase in birth year for cohorts born 1892-1952. The majority (72\%) of this trend was explained by increases in educational attainment for more recent cohorts. Proximal risk factors had little influence net of education and other early life factors. The trend in dementia decline was steeper for Black than White Americans, and the causal mechanisms also differed by race. In my fourth study, I document cohort trends in midlife cognitive aging. I find that, compared with those born 1942-1947, those born 1954-1959 entered midlife with lower cognitive function, but exhibited greater maintenance of cognition over time. This suggests that dementia prevalence may continue to improve as this latter-born cohort ages. Overall, this research reinforces the importance of social improvement (especially educational expansion) across the 20th century for cognitive health improvements in the 21st century. This work indicates that interventions to reduce or delay dementia and ameliorate racial disparities should be expanded to include social determinants of health across the life course.}, keywords = {Cognition, Dementia, life course, Population Health}, url = {https://www.proquest.com/docview/2714119717/abstract/CB2D6E694C244E7EPQ/1?accountid=14667}, author = {Lee, Mark} } @article {11711, title = {Associations between life course marital biography and late-life memory decline.}, journal = {Psychology and Aging Publisher}, volume = {36}, year = {2021}, pages = {557-571}, abstract = {

Late-life marital status is associated with cognitive aging; however, the influence of life course marital biography (i.e., changes in marital status) on late-life cognitive trajectories, as well as gender differences in the effects of marital biography, remain to be explored. Associations between (a) marital status at study baseline (currently married, previously married, never married) and (b) retrospectively reported life course marital biography (i.e., age at first marriage, time spent unmarried following initial marriage, history of divorce, history of widowhood) and up to 20 years of subsequent episodic memory trajectories were examined using latent growth curve models in 3,061 participants aged 51 + in the Health and Retirement Study 2017 Life History Mail Survey. Gender differences were examined with multiplicative interaction terms and stratified models. Participants who were married at study baseline demonstrated higher initial memory than previously and never married individuals. Older age at first marriage and shorter duration spent unmarried were each associated with better initial episodic memory among previously married individuals only; longer duration spent unmarried was associated with slower memory decline. Stratified models suggested that these associations may be driven by women. These results highlight the importance of considering multiple aspects of marital biography, not just current marital status, in cognitive aging research. Marital biography may have an enduring influence on cognitive aging, particularly among previously married older women. Future work is needed to identify mechanisms (e.g., socioeconomic resources, cognitive stimulation, self and spousal health, emotional support) through which marital histories influence cognitive aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

}, keywords = {cognitive aging, life course, Marital Status}, issn = {1939-1498}, doi = {10.1037/pag0000617}, author = {Afsara B. Zaheed and Sharifian, Neika and Morris, Emily P and A Zarina Kraal and Laura B Zahodne} } @article {10.1093/geroni/igab046.2919, title = {Caregiving Across the Life Course: Life History Findings from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {5}, year = {2021}, pages = {791}, abstract = {Informal caregiving, defined as unpaid care provided to a relative or friend with some sort of special need, is a topic of research across different disciplines. Previous research highlights the prevalence and heterogeneity of caregivers in terms of their age, gender, relationship with the care recipient, and the duration of care provision. However, most research focuses on a specific episode of caregiving. Little is known about the people who provide care to multiple recipients throughout their own life. To fill this gap, we examined data from the HRS Spring 2017 Life History Mail Survey (N = 3520; age range 50-101 yrs). Participants reported their relationship with people to whom they had provided unpaid care for >= 6 months (max 5) and listed the start and end years of care. Compared with people who had not provided care, caregivers (N = 1000, 28\%) were more likely to be women, white, and currently widowed. They cared for their parents (67\%), spouses (22\%), children (11\%), or other relatives (16\%) and 30\% reported providing care two or more times (M = 1.44, SD = 0.81). Respondents, who reported multiple episodes of caregiving were more likely to be women, widowed, aged between 25 and 50 at the time of first providing care. People who first cared for their spouse were less likely to report multiple caregiving episodes comparing with those who cared for parents or children. Future research will examine the health and well-being consequences associated with caregivers{\textquoteright} histories of providing unpaid care to others.}, keywords = {Caregiving, life course, Life History Mail Survey}, issn = {2399-5300}, doi = {10.1093/geroni/igab046.2919}, author = {Larkina, Marina and Jacqui Smith} } @article {11472, title = {Cumulative Disparities in the Dynamics of Working Poverty for Later Career U.S. Workers (2002{\textendash}2012)}, journal = {Socius}, volume = {7}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Many more Americans experience working poverty than unemployed poverty, a situation that was only exacerbated by the Great Recession. The consequences of working poverty for later career workers, who should be at their highest earning ages, are particularly dire. The authors expect that later career workers are especially vulnerable in terms of the risk and duration of working poverty and that those who have accumulated disadvantages over their life courses, in terms of the intersecting dimensions of race/ethnicity, gender, early-life disadvantage, and educational attainment, will suffer disproportionately. The authors use incidence-based Markov-chain multistate models to analyze the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, which is representative of the U.S. population aged 50 years and older. The results reveal that Black women and men, Latinx, those who experienced more early-life disadvantages, and people with lower education have higher risk and longer durations in working poverty over the period from 2002 to 2012. The findings also suggest that when confronted with economic hardship (the Great Recession) later career workers who originate in lower socioeconomic statuses, especially Blacks and Latinx, are in more precarious economic positions. Important from a policy perspective, educational attainment only partially mediates the association between race/ethnicity and working poverty; disparities persist.}, keywords = {Aging, cumulative disadvantage, Great Recession, life course, Poverty, Work}, isbn = {2378-0231}, doi = {10.1177/2378023120987332}, author = {Jo Mhairi Hale and Christian Dudel and Angelo Lorenti} } @article {11726, title = {Does postponing retirement affect cognitive function? A counterfactual experiment to disentangle life course risk factors}, journal = {SSM - Population Health}, volume = {15}, year = {2021}, pages = {100855}, abstract = {Evidence suggests that contemporaneous labor force participation affects cognitive function; however, it is unclear whether it is employment itself or endogenous factors related to individuals{\textquoteright} likelihood of employment that protects against cognitive decline. We exploit innovations in counterfactual causal inference to disentangle the effect of postponing retirement on later-life cognitive function from the effects of other life-course factors. With the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (1996{\textendash}2014, n = 20,469), we use the parametric g-formula to estimate the effect of postponing retirement to age 67. We also study whether the benefit of postponing retirement is affected by gender, education, and/or occupation, and whether retirement affects cognitive function through depressive symptoms or comorbidities. We find that postponing retirement is protective against cognitive decline, accounting for other life-course factors (population: 0.34, 95\% confidence interval (CI): 0.20,0.47; individual: 0.43, 95\% CI: 0.26,0.60). The extent of the protective effect depends on subgroup, with the highest educated experiencing the greatest mitigation of cognitive decline (individual: 50\%, 95\% CI: 32\%,71\%). By using innovative models that better reflect the empirical reality of interconnected life-course processes, this work makes progress in understanding how retirement affects cognitive function.}, keywords = {Causal inference, cognitive function, Labor force participation, life course, Retirement}, isbn = {2352-8273}, doi = {10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100855}, author = {Jo Mhairi Hale and Maarten J. Bijlsma and Angelo Lorenti} } @article {11757, title = {Genome-Wide Heritability Estimates for Family Life Course Complexity.}, journal = {Demography}, volume = {58(}, year = {2021}, pages = {1575-1602}, abstract = {

Sequence analysis is an established method used to study the complexity of family life courses. Although individual and societal characteristics have been linked with the complexity of family trajectories, social scientists have neglected the potential role of genetic factors in explaining variation in family transitions and events across the life course. We estimate the genetic contribution to sequence complexity and a wide range of family demographic behaviors using genomic relatedness-based, restricted maximum likelihood models with data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study. This innovative methodological approach allows us to provide the first estimates of the heritability of composite life course outcomes-that is, sequence complexity. We demonstrate that a number of family demographic indicators (e.g., the age at first birth and first marriage) are heritable and provide evidence that composite metrics can be influenced by genetic factors. For example, our results show that 11\% of the total variation in the complexity of differentiated family sequences is attributable to genetic influences. Moreover, we test whether this genetic contribution varies by social environment as indexed by birth cohort over a period of rapid changes in family norms during the twentieth century. Interestingly, we find evidence that the complexity of fertility and differentiated family trajectories decreased across cohorts, but we find no evidence that the heritability of the complexity of partnership trajectories changed across cohorts. Therefore, our results do not substantiate claims that lower normative constraints on family demographic behavior increase the role of genes.

}, keywords = {biodemography, Family, heritability, life course, Sequence analysis}, issn = {1533-7790}, doi = {10.1215/00703370-9373608}, author = {Van Winkle, Zachary and Dalton C Conley} } @article {11349, title = {The Impact of Military Service Exposures and Psychological Resilience on the Mental Health Trajectories of Older Male Veterans.}, journal = {Journal of Aging and Health}, volume = {33}, year = {2021}, pages = {237-248}, abstract = {

We examine the impact of exposure to the dead, dying, and wounded (DDW) during military service on the later-life depressive symptom trajectories of male United States veterans, using psychological resilience as an internal resource that potentially moderates negative consequences. The Health and Retirement Study (2006-2014) and linked Veteran Mail Survey were used to estimate latent growth curve models of depressive symptom trajectories, beginning at respondents{\textquoteright} first report of resilience. Veterans with higher levels of resilience do not have increased depressive symptoms in later life, despite previous exposure to DDW. Those with lower levels of resilience and previous exposure to DDW experience poorer mental health in later life. Psychological resilience is important for later-life mental health, particularly for veterans who endured potentially traumatic experiences. We discuss the importance acknowledging the role individual resources play in shaping adaptation to adverse life events and implications for mental health service needs.

}, keywords = {latent growth curves, life course}, issn = {1552-6887}, doi = {10.1177/0898264320975231}, author = {Urena, Stephanie and Miles G Taylor and Dawn C Carr} } @article {12055, title = {New Issues in Life Course Research: Which Early-Life Factors Matter for Late-Life Outcomes?}, journal = {Innovation in Aging}, volume = {5}, year = {2021}, pages = {28}, abstract = {The increased availability of retrospective information about the lives of participants in population panel studies has expanded the range of precursors to include in life course research. However, this also challenges researchers to select among many potential precursors to a late-life outcome and to determine the relative role of factors from different periods in the life course. Each paper in this symposium uses life course information from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine different late-life outcomes. Speakers will discuss what guided the particular selection of factors and outcome to examine in their study. Sonnega, Helppie-McFall, and Lee focus on indicators of childhood financial and social adversity as potential predictors of early retirement due to poor health. Park, Larkina, and Smith ask if decisions taken in early adulthood about how to balance work-and family-life by individuals and their partners are related to the categories of important life accomplishments older adults report in their life review. Two papers examine precursors of late-life health outcomes. Williams-Farrelly and Smith identified different profiles of physical activity in early- and mid-adulthood. They discuss associations between these profiles and cognitive aging. Whereas social losses, relocation, and multimorbidity are well-documented precursors of Major Depression in old age, Bergmans and Smith asked if poor health in childhood played a distal role. The session concludes with an integrative discussion of issues by Walsemann.}, keywords = {late-life outcomes, life course}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igab046.101}, author = {Jacqui Smith and Katrina M Walsemann} } @mastersthesis {11933, title = {Should I Stay or Should I Go? Mexican Return Migration across the Life Course }, year = {2021}, school = {The City University of New York}, address = {New York, NY}, abstract = {Foreign-born individuals make up a growing share of older adults in the US. Older immigrants offer an important vantage point from which to investigate integration because outcomes at older ages can be considered {\textquotedblleft}final{\textquotedblright} measures providing empirical evidence for theoretical understandings of the forces impacting immigrant trajectories. However, considering the non-negligible portion of immigrants that ultimately return to their country of origin it is impossible to get the full range of immigrant outcomes without considering returnees. Further, patterns of return may differ across the life course with distinct economic, social, and health considerations at older ages. However, the impact of selective return migration, including considerations of heterogeneity by life stage, on immigrant outcomes at older ages remains understudied. }, keywords = {life course, Mexico, MHAS, Migration}, url = {https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5622\&context=gc_etds}, author = {Mara Getz Sheftel} } @mastersthesis {11652, title = {Stress Proliferation and Disability over the Life Course}, volume = {Ph.D.}, year = {2021}, school = {Duke University}, address = {Durham, NC}, abstract = {For decades, life course and stress process scholars have documented that negative, stressful experiences have consequences for health across the life course. However, less attention has been paid to hearing impairment, a highly prevalent functional limitation that has significant implications for the quality of life of older adults. Hearing impairment is common at older ages (reported by 27.3\% of those aged 65-74 and 45.1\% of those aged 75 and older) and has negative consequences for the quality of life not only of the focal individual but also for those close to them (CDC 2017, Ciorba et al. 2012, Dalton et al. 2003, Wallhagen et al. 2004). The aim of this dissertation is to apply a life course and stress process framework to the experience of hearing impairment via two studies that each use nationally representative, longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). My findings contribute to our understanding of marriage, family, gender, and health by moving beyond the traditional approach that focuses on individuals with disabilities to explore the impacts of disability on spouses. In Chapter 2, I build on the stress process framework by conceptualizing hearing impairment as a chronic stressor that impacts mental health and examining the role of social support in this relationship. Using fixed-effects regression models applied to three waves of HRS data (2006, 2010, 2014), I found that worse self-rated hearing is associated with a significant increase in depressive symptoms, and that social support interacted with hearing impairment: low levels of social support were associated with more depressive symptoms but only among people with poor self-rated hearing. Moreover high levels of social support reduced depressive symptoms for those with poor hearing. These findings suggest that hearing impairment is a chronic stressor in individuals{\textquoteright} lives, and that responses to this stressor vary by the availability of social resources. Chapter 3 examines stress proliferation among married couples. While decades of research show the health benefits of marriage, stress proliferation suggests that chronic stressors such as disability may undermine social relations, thus limiting their role as a coping resource. For this study, I matched couples by household identification number over ten waves of the HRS (1998-2016). Fixed-effects regression models revealed that wives{\textquoteright} hearing impairment is associated with an increase in husbands{\textquoteright} depressive symptoms, but that husbands{\textquoteright} hearing impairment is not associated with wives{\textquoteright} depressive symptoms. This could be because women in heterosexual marriages have traditionally been expected to monitor their husbands{\textquoteright} health, but not vice versa. Since men are less used to serving as caregivers, they may find their wives{\textquoteright} hearing impairment distressing. Also, wives usually find social support outside of the marriage, while husbands traditionally rely on their wives for companionship. This would provide wives, but not husbands, with external resources to cope with their spouses{\textquoteright} hearing impairment. These findings reveal that the stress of hearing impairment does spill over from one spouse to another, depending on gender. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that hearing impairment is a chronic stressor that has major implications for individuals{\textquoteright} mental health. Moreover, the mental health consequences of hearing impairment are not only limited to individuals but can also spill over to impact spouses. Further research is needed to extend our understanding of how disability, in general, and hearing impairment, specifically, shapes health across the life course for individuals and those close to them.}, keywords = {hearing impaired, life course, stress process}, url = {https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/23020/West_duke_0066D_16082.pdf?sequence=1}, author = {Jessica S West} } @article {10906, title = {Cumulative disparities in the dynamics of working poverty for later-career U.S. workers (2002-2012)}, year = {2020}, institution = {Cornell University}, address = {Ithaca, NY}, abstract = {Many more Americans experience working poverty than unemployed poverty, a situation which was only exacerbated by the Great Recession. The consequences of working poverty for later-career workers {\textendash} who should be in their highest-earning ages {\textendash} are particularly dire. We expect that later-career workers are especially vulnerable in terms of risk and duration of working poverty and that those who have accumulated disadvantages over their life courses, in terms of the intersecting dimensions of race/ethnicity, gender, early-life socioeconomic status, and educational attainment, will suffer disproportionately. We use incidence-based Markov chain multistate models to analyze the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, which is representative of the U.S. population aged 50 and older. We find that Black women and men, Latinx, those who experienced more earlylife disadvantages, and people with lower education have higher risk and longer durations in working poverty over the period 2002-2012. Our findings also suggest that when confronted with economic hardship {\textendash} the Great Recession {\textendash} later-career workers who originate in lower socioeconomic statuses, especially Blacks and Latinx, are in more precarious economic positions. Important from a policy perspective, educational attainment only partially mediates the association between race/ethnicity and working poverty; disparities persist.}, keywords = {Aging, cumulative disadvantage, Great Recession, life course, Poverty, Race/ethnicity, Work}, doi = {10.31235/osf.io/xka5j}, author = {Jo Mhairi Hale and Christian Dudel and Angelo Lorenti} } @article {10981, title = {Intercohort Variations in the Education{\textendash}Health Gradient: Sociohistorical Changes in Early-Life Selection Mechanisms in the United States}, journal = {The Journals of Gerontology: Series B}, year = {2020}, month = {2020}, abstract = {Most prior studies on cohort-specific changes in the education gradient relative to health treat the distribution of education within a particular cohort as a {\textquotedblleft}starting place{\textquotedblright} for understanding later-life health disparities. This premise has obfuscated the role that sociohistorical changes in early-life selection mechanisms play in the widening of education-based inequalities in functional limitations across birth cohorts.Drawing from the Health and Retirement Survey (1992{\textendash}2016; n = 20,920), this study employs inverse probability weight (IPW) to account for early-life selection mechanisms that are likely to affect both educational attainment and functional limitations. IPW-adjusted generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate the total effect of education on functional limitations across birth cohorts (born 1924{\textendash}1959).A significant linear decline in the negative effects of childhood socioeconomic disadvantage on education (β = 0.005, p \< .01) over the birth year was documented. By contrast, the same variable{\textquoteright}s negative effect on functional health increased significantly (β = 0.006, p \< .001) across cohorts. Adjustment for childhood socioeconomic status did yield narrower education-based inequalities in functional limitations, but the difference between IPW-adjusted and unadjusted results was not statistically significant. The pattern of significant widening of education-based inequalities (β = -0.05, p \< .001) in functional limitations across birth cohorts was maintained.This study underscores the role that sociohistorical changes in early-life selection mechanisms play in modifying patterns of education-based inequalities in health across cohorts.}, keywords = {Cohort Analysis, Functional limitations, life course}, isbn = {1079-5014}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa100}, author = {Bhatta, Tirth R} } @article {10488, title = {Being happier will help you live longer, so learn how to be happier}, year = {2019}, publisher = {CNN}, abstract = {If you could wish for just one thing, would it be happiness or a long life? Given what researchers tell us, one is likely to produce the other. Science has been exploring the connection between happiness and longevity for some time. A 2011 analysis of nearly 4,000 Brits found those who said they felt content, happy or excited on a typical day were up to 35\% less likely to die prematurely. In a 2016 study, a positive outlook was associated with longer life for nearly 4,000 older French men and women studied over 22 years. Researchers followed more than 2,000 Mexican-Americans in 2015 and found those who were more positive in their world view were half as likely to die. And a 2011 study followed around 200 women and men from San Francisco over 13 years and found those who reported more positive than negative experiences also lived longer.}, keywords = {Happiness, life course, Optimism}, url = {https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/30/health/happiness-live-longer-wellness/index.html}, author = {LaMotte, Sandy} } @article {10201, title = {Cardiometabolic Risk and Cognitive Decline: The Role of Socioeconomic Status in Childhood and Adulthood.}, journal = {J Health Soc Behav}, volume = {60}, year = {2019}, month = {2019 Sep}, pages = {326-343}, abstract = {

Socioeconomic conditions in childhood predict cognitive functioning in later life. It is unclear whether poor childhood socioeconomic status (SES) also predicts the acceleration of cognitive decline. One proposed pathway is via cardiometabolic risk, which has been linked to both childhood SES and earlier onset of cognitive impairment. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examine the impact of childhood SES on cognitive trajectories over six years and test whether it operates through increased cardiometabolic risk and adult SES. We find that higher childhood SES leads to slower cognitive decline, partially due to lower levels of cardiometabolic risk. However, these pathways operate entirely through adult socioeconomic attainment. The results have important implications for future trends in cognitive population health within the context of growing social inequality and reduced social mobility.

}, keywords = {cardiometabolic risk, cognitive aging, life course, socioeconomic status}, issn = {2150-6000}, doi = {10.1177/0022146519867924}, url = {https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31526019}, author = {Oi, Katsuya and Steven A Haas} } @mastersthesis {10286, title = {Cumulative Inequality and Housing Insecurity Severity among Renters in Later Life}, volume = {Master of Science}, year = {2018}, note = {Copyright - Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works; Last updated - 2018-11-05}, pages = {88}, school = {Iowa State University}, type = {phd}, address = {Ames, Iowa}, abstract = {Housing insecurity, lack of access to safe and affordable housing, has become a national public health crisis, especially among vulnerable populations such as renters and the aged. For everyone, housing insecurity is associated with poorer mental and physical health and shortened lifespans. With data from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study and ordered logistic regression models, this study examined housing insecurity severity among renters age 50 and older using a CI framework providing explanation of systemic and individual forces result in differential and unequal outcomes dependent on exposure to risk and opportunity. Over half of respondents experienced any level of housing insecurity. Of housing insecure respondents, three out of five were observed as severely housing insecure. Those from urban areas, less than a high school diploma, widows, and over the age of 80 had enhanced odds of experiencing more severe housing insecurity. Additional research is needed to identify other aspects of cumulative inequality that may be related to housing insecurity to better guide policy change with respect to this important issue.}, keywords = {0351:Gerontology, 0626:Sociology, Gerontology, life course, Social Sciences, Sociology}, isbn = {9780438417618}, url = {https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Cumulative-inequality-and-housing-insecurity-among-True-Funk/76202cef00ce0862db5763d09d821818ddc2ed28}, author = {True-Funk,Arielle} } @article {13587, title = {State-level desegregation in the U.S. South and mid-life cognitive function among Black and White adults.}, journal = {Social Science \& Medicine (1983)}, volume = {338}, pages = {116319}, abstract = {

RATIONALE: Black adults experience worse cognitive function than their White peers. Although educational attainment is an important predictor of cognitive function, other aspects of education, including school desegregation, may also shape this relationship. For Black adults who grew up in the U.S. South in the 1950s-1970s, exposure to school desegregation may have altered life course pathways critical for later cognitive function.

OBJECTIVE: We determined if state variation in exposure to school desegregation in the U.S. South was associated with cognitive function at mid-life, if the association varied by race, and if the association remained after adjustment for state-level education quality and respondents{\textquoteright} educational attainment.

METHODS: We linked historical data on state-level school desegregation to the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 50 and older. We restricted our sample to Black (n~=~1443) and White (n~=~1507) adults born between 1948 and 1963 who resided in the U.S. South during primary school. We assessed three cognition outcomes: total cognitive function, episodic memory, and mental status. We estimated race-stratified linear regression models with cluster adjustment and a final model using state fixed effects.

RESULTS: Greater exposure to desegregated primary schooling was associated with higher cognitive function and episodic memory among Black but not White adults. Among Black adults, the association between school desegregation and cognitive function and episodic memory remained after adjustment for state-level education quality and educational attainment.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that state-level school desegregation efforts played a consequential role in shaping the cognitive function of Black adults who grew up in the U.S. South.

}, keywords = {Education, historical data, life course, school segregation}, issn = {1873-5347}, doi = {10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116319}, author = {Walsemann, Katrina M and Hair, Nicole L and Farina, Mateo P and Tyagi, Pallavi and Jackson, Heide and Jennifer A Ailshire} }