%0 Journal Article %J Social Currents %D 2022 %T The Intersecting Consequences of Race-Gender Health Disparities on Workforce Engagement for Older Workers: An Examination of Physical and Mental Health %A Kendra Jason %A Christy L Erving %K Aging and the life course %K gender %K Health Disparities %K Labor %K Occupations %K organizations %K race %X The dramatic growth of older adults’ labor participation over the past 25 years, including women and people of color, is reshaping the American labor force. The current study contributes new knowledge concerning why individuals over age 50 years may be working longer despite negative impacts of deteriorating physical and mental health associated with aging. Inquiries regarding who continues to work and why can be answered, in part, by addressing how workforce engagement and health are shaped by notable social inequities along the dimensions of age, race, and gender. Guided by cumulative advantage/disadvantage and intersectionality frameworks, we examine whether having multiple chronic conditions (MCC)—two or more physical conditions—and depression affect workforce participation. Using multinomial logistic regression models, we analyze the 2014–2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 4250). Findings reveal that having multiple chronic illnesses increase the likelihood of labor force exit, especially among workers who also have depression. We also discover intersectional nuances which illuminate complex race-gender dynamics related to health and work processes in later life. We conclude with recommendations for workplace policy that promote the retention of older workers with chronic illness and depression and aim to decrease disparities in older workers’ work engagement. %B Social Currents %V 9 %P 45-69 %G eng %N 1 %R 10.1177/23294965211053835 %0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology: Series A %D 2022 %T Multiple Reasons for Perceived Everyday Discrimination and All-Cause Mortality Risk Among Older Black Adults. %A Ryon J. Cobb %A Connor M Sheehan %A Louie, Patricia %A Christy L Erving %K Aging %K Black Americans %K Discrimination %K Mortality %X

BACKGROUND: The present study assessed whether reporting multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination was associated with an increased risk for all-cause mortality risk among older Black adults.

METHODS: This study utilized data from a subsample of older Black adults from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative panel study of older adults in the United States. Our measure of multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination was based on self-reports from the 2006/2008 HRS waves. Respondents' vital status was obtained from the National Death Index and reports from key household informants (spanning 2006-2019). Cox proportional hazard models, which accounted for covariates linked to mortality, were used to estimate the risk of all-cause mortality.

RESULTS: During the observation period, 563 deaths occurred. Twenty percent of Black adults attributed perceived everyday discrimination to three or more sources. In demographic adjusted models, attributing perceived everyday discrimination to three or more sources was a statistically significant predictor of all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratio= 1.45; 95%, confidence interval=1.12 - 1.87). The association remained significant (hazard ratio=1.49, 95%, confidence interval=1.15 - 1.93) after further adjustments for health, behavioral, and economic characteristics.

CONCLUSION: Examining how multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination relate to all-cause mortality risk has considerable utility in clarifying the unique contributions of perceived discrimination to mortality risk among older Black adults. Our findings suggest that multiple reasons for perceived everyday discrimination are a particularly salient risk factor for mortality among older Black adults.

%B The Journals of Gerontology: Series A %V 77 %P 310-314 %G eng %N 2 %R 10.1093/gerona/glab281 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Health and Social Behavior %D 2021 %T The Association between Multiple Chronic Conditions and Depressive Symptoms: Intersectional Distinctions by Race, Nativity, and Gender. %A Christy L Erving %A Frazier, Cleothia %K cumulative disadvantage %K depression %K Intersectionality %K Multiple Chronic Conditions %X

Using random coefficient growth curve analysis, this study utilizes 12 waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study (1994-2016; person-waves = 145,177) to examine the association between multiple chronic conditions (MCC) and depressive symptoms among older adults. Applying cumulative disadvantage and intersectionality theories, we also test whether the association between MCC and depressive symptoms differs by race, nativity, and gender. Findings reveal that MCC prevalence is highest among U.S.-born black women, whereas depressive symptoms are highest among foreign-born Hispanic women. Compared to men, MCC has a stronger effect on women's depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the MCC-depressive symptoms association is strongest for foreign-born Hispanic women. Despite an increase in MCC in the transition from midlife to late life, all race-nativity-gender groups experience a decline in depressive symptoms as they age. The decline in depressive symptoms is steepest for U.S.-born black and foreign-born Hispanic women. Study implications are discussed.

%B Journal of Health and Social Behavior %V 62 %P 599-617 %G eng %N 4 %R 10.1177/00221465211040174