%0 Journal Article %J Research on Aging %D 2022 %T Black-White Differences in the Link Between Offspring College Attainment and Parents' Depressive Symptom Trajectories. %A Jenjira J Yahirun %A Connor M Sheehan %A Krysia N Mossakowski %K intergenerational relationships %K life course %K Mental Health %K race %X

This study examines whether the relationship between children's college attainment and their parents' 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' 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' education show that Black parents at nearly all levels of schooling experienced stronger returns to their mental health from children'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.

%B Research on Aging %V 44 %P 123-135 %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1177/0164027521997999 %0 Journal Article %J Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences %D 2020 %T Depression in Later Life: The Role of Adult Children's College Education for Older Parents' Mental Health in the United States. %A Jenjira J Yahirun %A Connor M Sheehan %A Krysia N Mossakowski %K Adult children %K Depressive symptoms %K Education %X

Objectives: Research on the socioeconomic gradient in mental health links disadvantaged family background with subsequent symptoms of depression, demonstrating the "downstream" effect of parental resources on children's mental health. This study takes a different approach by evaluating the "upstream" influence of adult children's educational attainment on parents' depressive symptoms.

Methods: Using longitudinal data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (N=106,517 person-years), we examine whether children's college attainment influences their parents' mental health in later life and whether this association increases with parental age. We also assess whether the link between children's college completion and parents' depression differs by parents' own education.

Results: Parents with children who completed college have significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than parents without college-educated children, although the gap between parents narrows with age. In addition, at baseline, parents with less than a high school education were more positively affected by their children's college completion than parents who themselves had a college education, a finding which lends support to theories of resource substitution.

Discussion: Offspring education is an overlooked resource that can contribute to mental health disparities among older adults in a country with unequal access to college educations.

%B Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences & Social Sciences %G eng %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30412237?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/geronb/gby135 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Aging and Health %D 2019 %T Does the Health of Adult Child Caregivers Vary by Employment Status in the United States? %A Noreen M Kohl %A Krysia N Mossakowski %A Ivan I Sanidad %A Omar T. Bird %A Lawrence H Nitz %K Adult children %K Caregiving %K Employment and Labor Force %K Retirement Planning and Satisfaction %X

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates whether the health effects of informal caregiving for aging parents vary by employment status in the United States. Two opposing hypotheses are tested: dual role strain and role enhancement.

METHOD: Using national longitudinal data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, multivariate regression models predicted self-rated health and mental health among older adult children caregiving for their parents (2009-2012) and noncaregivers.

RESULTS: A statistically significant interaction was found between caregiving duration and employment, indicating that employed caregivers had significantly worse health than retired caregivers. Caregiving duration also predicted significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms.

DISCUSSION: Our results support the dual role strain hypothesis and suggest that caregiving for a parent up to 4 years is enough to predict significantly worse health among older adult Baby Boomers, especially those in the labor force. The broader implications for public health and workplace policies are discussed.

%B Journal of Aging and Health %G eng %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29972080?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1177/0898264318782561