Longitudinal and Life Course Studies最新文献

Background: There is still a lack of knowledge on how life course changes in maternal partnership status, particularly long-lasting single motherhood, affect women's health and how this relationship differs across cohorts in the United States.

Methods: We used data from 2,524 and 1,963 mothers aged 15 to 37 from the NLSY79 and NLSY97 cohorts. Maternal partnership was defined as whether the woman was in a union or not and had a child or not at each year of the follow-up period. We used sequence analysis with a hierarchical cluster method and estimated multivariate linear and logistic regression models to evaluate the association between maternal partnership status and body mass index (BMI), depressive symptoms, and sleep duration.

Results: We identified three maternal partnership clusters. Long-term single motherhood (Cluster 3) was linked to higher BMI and shorter sleep independent of family sociodemographic factors, but not of age and education at first childbirth, or race/ethnicity. Findings were similar across cohorts. In fully adjusted models, it was associated with higher depression symptoms only in the NLSY79 cohort.

Conclusion: Our results highlight that age and education at first childbirth are key in the link between life course maternal partnership status and women's health, independent of cohort context within the same country.

Although life course research has shown that childhood stressors can exert long-term effects into older adulthood, few studies have explored alternative ways of measuring stressors across childhood and adulthood, or tested their invariance across birth cohorts. This study examined birth cohort differences in the relationships between childhood and adulthood stressors and later-life cognitive function. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (N=10,757; age: 50-85), we conducted parallel analyses across three birth cohorts: War Babies (1942-1947), Early Baby Boomers (1948-1953) and Mid Baby Boomers (1954-1959). We estimated a series of nested linear regression models for each cohort, and further evaluated how different types of stressors impact cognitive function across birth cohorts. Greater childhood stressors predicted worse cognitive function among Early Baby Boomer cohort only. Upon examination of the individual stressor categories, higher levels of adult financial stressors were significantly associated with lower cognitive function within all three birth cohorts. In addition to adult financial stressors, greater childhood financial stressors were related to worse cognitive function for the Early Baby Boomer cohort, and greater relational stressors predicted worse cognitive function for the Mid Baby Boomer cohort. Findings highlight birth cohort differences in the effects of childhood and adulthood stressors on cognitive function, possibly underscoring variations in sociocultural and resilience factors unique to each cohort.

The death of a parent can profoundly impact psychological and social functioning, particularly among racial-ethnic minority groups. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 9,508), the current study compared the association between parental death timing during different life stages and early-midlife depressive and perceived stress symptoms ('psychological distress') across racial-ethnic identities, while accounting for early-midlife social support and strain. We also investigated the mediating effects of cumulative social support and strain between life course timing of first parental death and midlife psychological distress using the Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method. We found that Black individuals experienced the highest frequency of parental death beginning earlier in life. Stepwise linear regression models showed that parental death during young adulthood and early midlife is associated with early-midlife psychological distress among White individuals, net of covariates. Our results among Black and Hispanic adults indicate that the life course timing of parental death was unrelated to early-midlife psychological distress, exposing an understudied area of the 'Minority Mental Health Paradox'. Early-midlife social support and strain were strongly associated with early-midlife psychological distress across racial-ethnic identities. The KHB mediation analysis further revealed that cumulative social support in midlife independently accounted for approximately 16 per cent and 20 per cent of the association between parental death in young adulthood and midlife stress and depressive symptoms, respectively. Our study highlights that bereavement programmes could tailor interventions to address variations in midlife social support and strain across different racial-ethnic groups to mitigate psychological distress.

The relationship between social connections and cognitive health is well-established, yet its implications vary significantly across life stages and sociocultural contexts. This study provides new insights by using Gateway to Global Aging Data (2010-18) to examine cognitive functioning trajectories from mid- to later life across four high- and middle-income countries: the United States, England, China and Mexico. We consider overall social isolation as well as its specific dimensions, including partnership status, contact with children and friends, and social participation. Using growth curve models, we assess both levels of cognitive functioning and the rate of cognitive change with age. Results show that socially isolated adults consistently exhibit lower cognitive functioning than their non-isolated counterparts in all countries except England, with gaps more pronounced in China and Mexico than in the United States. Cross-national differences also emerge across dimensions of isolation. For instance, not having a partner significantly predicts lower cognition in China and the United States but not in England or Mexico. Contact with children plays a critical role in China and Mexico and becomes more salient in later life in the United States. Beyond family ties, maintaining friendships and engaging in social activities support cognitive health across most settings and become increasingly important with age. These findings demonstrate that the cognitive consequences of social isolation depend not only on who is isolated, but also on when isolation occurs and how it aligns with broader social contexts and life course dynamics.

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examined (a) how childhood socioeconomic status (SES) affects multimorbidity in later life; (b) whether the association between childhood SES and later-life multimorbidity provided empirical support for the critical period model, the sensitive period model, the pathway model and the accumulation model; (c) whether there were cohort differences in the association between childhood SES and later-life multimorbidity. Participants (N = 12,601) were grouped into three birth cohorts (1929-38, 1939-45 and post-1945) and followed up from 1998 to 2020. We performed two-level Poisson growth curve models. We found that the association between childhood SES and later-life multimorbidity was modified by SES in adulthood or older age but remained significant, supporting the sensitive period model. Childhood SES affects later-life multimorbidity via SES attainment in adulthood and older age, supporting the pathway model. Persistent disadvantage in childhood, adulthood and older age is a strong risk factor for later-life multimorbidity, supporting the accumulation model. Our results did not support the critical period model. These findings hold among all three cohorts, although to a different extent. Our findings highlight that childhood is a sensitive and malleable period in the life course of an individual when it is possible to break the chain of risk and prevent accumulation of socioeconomic disadvantage in multimorbidity in older age. Moreover, individual lives are embedded in historical and social contexts, the dynamic interplay between which plays a key role in determining the risk of multimorbidity in later life.

The transition from primary to secondary education is a pivotal stage in children's development, often marked by a widening of socioeconomic disparities in cognitive and mental health outcomes. While formal schooling is known to shape these inequalities, less is understood about how the home learning environment (HLE) contributes to developmental outcomes, particularly when schools are disrupted, such as during COVID-19-related school closures. This study examines the extent to which the HLE accounts for socioeconomic differences in cognitive ability and mental health among Irish adolescents. Three measures of social origin are employed simultaneously: parental education, occupational social class and household income. Using longitudinal data from the Growing Up in Ireland study (Cohort '08), we follow a nationally representative sample of children from age nine (2017-2018) to age 13 (2021-2022), capturing both the transition to secondary school and the aftermath of school closures. Regression analyses show that parental education strongly predicts cognitive ability and externalising difficulties, whereas family social class is associated with internalising problems. Several HLE indicators, including access to books, parent-child conflict and parental mental health, are significantly associated with outcomes at age 13, even after controlling for social background and pre-pandemic outcomes. However, path analysis indicates that the HLE only partially mediates these socioeconomic differences, suggesting that other mechanisms contribute to the persistence of unequal developmental trajectories during this formative period.

This research note examines the evolving relationship between counterurbanisation and life course perspectives in post-pandemic migration literature (2020-2025). Through systematic review of 88 articles, we identify significant conceptual diversity in how these phenomena are defined and interconnected. Counterurbanisation is variously conceptualised as demographic movement, hierarchical settlement transition, urban-rural migration, lifestyle choice, crisis response and policy discourse. Similarly, life course approaches range from traditional life cycle models focused on age categories to comprehensive frameworks emphasising the dynamic interplay of agency, structure and context. Our analysis reveals that approximately 78 per cent of studies establish some connection between counterurbanisation and life course concepts, though with varying degrees of theoretical integration. Direct nexuses typically frame life course events as migration triggers, employ life course as an interpretive framework or view counterurbanisation as part of longitudinal biographical trajectories. In contrast, indirect connections often focus on evolving lifestyle preferences, context-dependent migration or changing place attachments without explicitly linking them to rural-bound movements. Understanding this nexus is crucial for assessing the durability and long-term implications of post-pandemic counterurbanisation trends. By contextualising migration within broader life trajectories, researchers can better evaluate whether recent urban outflows represent lasting demographic shifts or temporary crisis responses. Moreover, recognising how counterurbanisation intersects with individual biographies provides essential insights for rural development policies, helping communities anticipate settlers' evolving needs across different life stages and create conditions for sustainable population retention. This perspective ultimately enriches our understanding of rural futures by illuminating how individual life paths and rural transformations are dynamically intertwined.

Objective: This study explored how interrupted education during the Cultural Revolution affects functional limitations in later life.

Methods: Data came from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2011-2018. Three cohorts were included: the People's Republic of China (PRC) cohort (born from 1945 to 1954), the pre-PRC cohort (born from 1910 to 1944) and the late-PRC cohort (born from 1955 to 1964). A logit model was used to examine the association between family background and policy-related interrupted education. Mixed-effects negative binomial regression models with random intercepts were applied to estimate the impacts on functional limitations. All analyses were stratified by cohort, and slope differences were tested.

Results: The PRC cohort had a higher proportion of policy-related interrupted education and a lower proportion of college education compared to the pre-PRC and late-PRC cohorts. Higher educational attainment was associated with lower levels of functional limitations in later life across all cohorts. Policy-related interrupted education was associated with higher levels of functional limitations for the PRC cohort. Parental Communist Party membership was not associated with lower odds of policy-related interrupted education, but was associated with higher levels of functional limitations for the PRC cohort (IRR=1.125, p<0.05).

Conclusion: The Cultural Revolution had different impacts on educational attainment and later-life functional limitations across cohorts. The PRC cohort experienced the most negative long-term impacts of disrupted education.

Objective: This study examines the impact of work history on functional limitations in later life among individuals who experienced China's 1978 economic reform.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2011-18 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) for respondents born between 1935 and 1964. Sequence analysis was used to categorise work histories by type and duration. Random intercept multilevel Tobit models were applied to estimate the effects of work trajectories on functional limitations in later life.

Results: The economic reform facilitated transitions from farming to non-rural work for rural workers, yet hukou-based urban-rural divisions shaped access to pensions, medical insurance and housing benefits. Urban work is associated with lower functional limitations than self-employment for urban hukou holders. Younger migrant workers and rural workers who were mainly engaged in self-employment or urban work have lower levels of functional limitations than those who were mainly engaged in farming or rural work.

Conclusion: Work history was significantly shaped by the urban-rural hukou system. Rural hukou holders had fewer opportunities for non-rural employment, limiting their access to pensions, healthcare and better living conditions. Those engaged in rural work experienced significantly higher functional limitations compared to individuals in other employment types.