scholarly journals Leveraging Free Public Use Data for Aging and Life Course Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 500-500
Author(s):  
Phyllis Moen ◽  
Kathleen Cagney
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Socioeconomic Conditions ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
Data Intensive ◽  
Economics Of Aging ◽  
Common Thread ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The University

Abstract This symposium will showcase life course and aging research that is possible using freely available integrated census and survey data available via IPUMS. This session is organized by the Network for Data-Intensive Research on Aging (NDIRA) initiative at the University of Minnesota’s Life Course Center. NDIRA seeks to build and support an interdisciplinary community of scientists leveraging powerful data resources in innovative ways to understand health outcomes at older ages, as well as the demography and economics of aging. The session features papers that illustrate how to examine aging-related topics including health at older ages, work and socioeconomic conditions, and living conditions with a common thread of examining heterogeneity within groups. These papers all leverage freely available census and nationally-representative survey data, highlighting the potential value of these data for studying aging and the life course. By combining papers on an array of topics from a variety of data sources, this symposium highlights exemplar papers that demonstrate the types of novel research possible using public use census and survey data that NDIRA seeks to foster.

Population Aging, Intracohort Aging, and Sociopolitical Attitudes

2007 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 812-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas L. Danigelis ◽  
Melissa Hardy ◽  
Stephen J. Cutler
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Sociopolitical Attitudes ◽  
The Life Course

Prevailing stereotypes of older people hold that their attitudes are inflexible or that aging tends to promote increasing conservatism in sociopolitical outlook. In spite of mounting scientific evidence demonstrating that learning, adaptation, and reassessment are behaviors in which older people can and do engage, the stereotype persists. We use U.S. General Social Survey data from 25 surveys between 1972 and 2004 to formally assess the magnitude and direction of changes in attitudes that occur within cohorts at different stages of the life course. We decompose changes in sociopolitical attitudes into the proportions attributable to cohort succession and intracohort aging for three categories of items: attitudes toward historically subordinate groups, civil liberties, and privacy. We find that significant intracohort change in attitudes occurs in cohorts-inlater- stages (age 60 and older) as well as cohorts-in-earlier-stages (ages 18 to 39), that the change for cohorts-in-later-stages is frequently greater than that for cohorts-inearlier-stages, and that the direction of change is most often toward increased tolerance rather than increased conservatism. These findings are discussed within the context of population aging and development.

scholarly journals Transpersonal Genetic Effects Among Older U.S. Couples: A Longitudinal Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 184-194
Author(s):  
Aniruddha Das
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Genetic Effects ◽  
Genetic Associations ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Genetics Research ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Background Emerging social genetics research suggests one’s genes may influence not just one’s own outcomes but also those of close social alters. Health implications, particularly in late life, remain underexplored. Using combined genetic and survey data, this study examined such transpersonal genetic associations among older U.S. couples. Method Data were from married or cohabiting couples in the 2006–2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, nationally representative of U.S. adults over 50. Measures included a polygenic score for educational attainment, and self-rated health. Analysis was through parallel process latent growth models. Results Women’s and men’s genetic scores for education had transpersonal linkages with their partner’s health. Such associations were solely with life-course variations and not late-life change in outcomes. Moreover, they were indirect, mediated by educational attainment itself. Evidence also emerged for individual-level genetic effects mediated by the partner’s education. Discussion In addition to the subject-specific linkages emphasized in extant genetics literature, relational contexts involve multiple transpersonal genetic associations. These appear to have consequences for a partner’s and one’s own health. Life-course theory indicates that a person is never not embedded in such contexts, suggesting that these patterns may be widespread. Research is needed on their implications for the life-course and gene–environment correlation literature.

Exposure to continuous or fluid theories of sexual orientation leads some heterosexuals to embrace less-exclusive heterosexual orientations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilan Dar-Nimrod ◽  
James Morandini ◽  
Liam Dacosta
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
University Students ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Sexual Experiences ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Political Alignment

We examined whether heterosexual individuals’ self-reported sexual orientation could be influenced experimentally by manipulating their knowledge of the nature of sexual orientation. In Study 1 (180 university students, 66% female) participants read summaries describing evidence for sexual orientation existing on a continuum versus discrete categories or a control manipulation, and in Study 2 (460 participants in a nationally representative Qualtrics panel, 50% female) additionally read summaries describing sexual orientation as fluid versus stable across the life-course. After reading summaries, participants answered various questions about their sexual orientation. In Study 1, political moderates and progressives (but not conservatives) who read the continuous manipulation subsequently reported being less exclusively heterosexual, and regardless of political alignment, participants reported more uncertainty about their sexual orientation, relative to controls. In Study 2, after exposure to fluid or continuous manipulations heterosexual participants were up to five times more likely than controls to rate themselves as non-exclusively heterosexual. Additionally, those in the continuous condition reported more uncertainty about their sexual orientation and were more willing to engage in future same-sex sexual experiences, than those in the control condition. These results suggest that non-traditional theories of sexual orientation can lead heterosexuals to embrace less exclusive heterosexual orientations.

scholarly journals Life-course BMI and biomarkers in persons aged 60 years or older: a comparison of the USA and Costa Rica

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-323
Author(s):  
David H Rehkopf ◽  
Andrew Duong ◽  
William H Dow ◽  
Luis Rosero-Bixby
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Risk ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Hdl Cholesterol ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Risk Biomarkers ◽  
The Life Course

AbstractObjectiveThere is a large literature linking current BMI to levels of cardiovascular risk biomarkers, but it is unknown whether measures of BMI earlier in the life course and maximum BMI are predictive of current levels of biomarkers. The objective of the current study was to determine how current, maximum and age-25 BMI among individuals over the age of 60 years are associated with their current levels of cardiovascular risk biomarkers.DesignCross-sectional study with retrospective recall.SettingCosta Rica (n 821) and the USA (n 4110).SubjectsNationally representative samples of adults aged 60 years or over.ResultsWe used regression models to examine the relationship between multiple meaures of BMI with four established cardiovascular risk biomarkers. The most consistent predictor of current levels of systolic blood pressure, TAG and HDL-cholesterol was current BMI. However, maximum BMI was the strongest predictor of glycosylated Hb (HbA1c) and was also related to HDL-cholesterol and TAG. HbA1c was independent of current BMI. We found that these relationships are consistent between Costa Rica and the USA for HbA1c and for HDL-cholesterol.ConclusionsCurrent levels of cardiovascular risk biomarkers are not only the product of current levels of BMI, but also of maximum lifetime BMI, particularly for levels of HbA1c and for HDL-cholesterol. Managing maximum obtained BMI over the life course may be most critical for maintaining the healthiest levels of cardiovascular risk.

scholarly journals Changing behavior throughout the life-course: Translating the success of aging research

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia G. Ory ◽  
Matthew Lee Smith ◽  
Barbara Resnick
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Aging Research ◽  
The Life Course

scholarly journals Gender Differences in the Life Course Effects of Unemployment on Mid- and Later-Life Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 585-585
Author(s):  
Amal Harrati ◽  
Peter Heburn
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Substantial Evidence ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Lifetime Employment ◽  
National Longitudinal Study ◽  
Employment Trajectories ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract There is substantial evidence that unemployment is associated with adverse health. Given different lifetime employment patterns, these effects may differ between men and women. However, current studies often only characterize unemployment as a one-time shock, and measure the effects on health shortly thereafter. Using unique data available from The National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979, we characterize employment trajectories for a nationally-representative sample of American men and women for every week of their lives between the ages of 18 and 50 years old. We then explore associations between unemployment and a number of health conditions including cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and depression at age 50--when the onset of chronic health conditions often begins—to examine the cumulative effects of unemployment over the life course on later-life health. We find that men and women have different patterns of lifetime unemployment and that these patterns have strong associations with poorer health at age 50.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Life Course Socioeconomic Conditions and Objective and Subjective Memory in Older Age

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Morgane Künzi ◽  
Emilie Joly-Burra ◽  
Sascha Zuber ◽  
Maximilian Haas ◽  
Doriana Tinello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Socioeconomic Conditions ◽  
Subjective Memory Complaints ◽  
Subjective Memory ◽  
Memory Complaints ◽  
The Life Course

While objective memory performance in older adults was primarily shown to be affected by education as indicator of life course socioeconomic conditions, other life course socioeconomic conditions seem to relate to subjective memory complaints. However, studies differ in which life course stages were investigated. Moreover, studies have explored these effects in an isolated way, but have not yet investigated their unique effect when considering several stages of the life course simultaneously. This study, therefore, examined the respective influence of socioeconomic conditions from childhood up to late-life on prospective memory (PM) performance as an objective indicator of everyday memory as well as on subjective memory complaints (SMC) in older age using structural equation modeling. Data came from two waves of the Vivre-Leben-Vivere aging study (n=993, Mage=80.56). The results indicate that only socioeconomic conditions in adulthood significantly predicted late-life PM performance. PM performance was also predicted by age and self-rated health. In contrast, SMC in older age were not predicted by socioeconomic conditions at any stage of the life course but were predicted by level of depression. In line with the cognitive reserve hypothesis, present results highlight the significance of education and occupation (adulthood socioeconomic conditions) for cognitive functioning in later life.

The U-Shape of Happiness: A Response

2021 ◽  
pp. 174569162098439
Author(s):  
David G. Blanchflower ◽  
Carol L. Graham
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Late Adolescence ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Life Course

We write in response to an article published in this journal, “The U Shape of Happiness Across the Life Course: Expanding the Discussion,” by Galambos, Krahn, Johnson and Lachman. The authors claim that “support for the purported U shape is not as robust and generalizable as is often assumed” and “we believe the conclusion that happiness declines from late adolescence to midlife (the first half of the U shape) is premature, and possibly wrong.” We respectfully disagree. The authors’ main evidence is based on summaries of 33 articles; they find 12 to have U shapes, seven to have none, and 14 to be mixed. We found that most of these articles are misclassified: Four of them are ineligible for inclusion, 25 find a U, and four are mixed. We then identified a further 353 articles, including 329 in peer-reviewed journals, that all found U shapes that were not identified in the literature review. This is a major omission. We also present our own evidence of midlife nadirs in well-being using around eight and a half million individual observations from nationally representative surveys for the United States and Europe. The midlife low occurs in the mid-40s and its drop is equivalent to roughly three quarters of the unprecedented drop observed in well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Interregional migration and life strategies of the Russian youth

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 162-180
Author(s):  
M.A. Kartseva ◽  
◽  
N.V. Mkrtchуan ◽  
Y.F. Florinskaya ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Career Success ◽  
Income Level ◽  
Interregional Migration ◽  
Time Migration ◽  
Region Of Residence ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Positive Effect

There is lack of studies associating youth migration with a life course in Russia. The article aims to reveal the effect of interregional migration on the life course of young adults (23–34 y.o.) using the data from the nationally representative survey “Person, Family, Society” undertaken by RANEPA in 2020 and data from indepth interviews with young people who moved to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, Voronezh to get higher education. In the study interregional migrants are defined as people for whom current region of residence differs from the region where they completed secondary education. Our results suggest that migration is a strong factor of personal growth for youth. The comparison of young migrants with non-migrants demonstrates that the interregional migration have a distinct positive effect on career success, income level and promote greater independence and relying on your own resources, solving housing issues among them. The comparison of young migrants and non-migrants demonstrates that the interregional migration has a distinct positive effect on career success, income level and promote greater independence and selfreliance including resolving the housing problems. At the same time migration moderately affects marriage strategies but it contributes to the postponement of childbearing.

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