The Unique Experience of Caregivers Based on Their Life Stage and Relationship to the Patient

2019 ◽  
pp. 34-49
Author(s):  
Kristin Litzelman

Although caregivers are often thought of as middle-aged or older adults, cancer caregiving spans the life course. This chapter discusses the unique challenges of cancer caregiving across the life course—early adulthood (18–44 years of age); middle age (45–64 years); and older age (adults 65 years and older)—using data from the 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and evidence from the extant literature. More than 4 in 10 cancer caregivers were in early adulthood. Another 4 in 10 were in middle age, and nearly 2 in 10 were in older adulthood. Normative developmental patterns differ at each life stage, with implications for supporting cancer caregivers in clinical and policy settings. Future research embracing a nuanced view of caregiving across the life course and across relationship type will enhance the ability to care for caregivers and improve cancer survivor and caregiver well-being.

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-207
Author(s):  
Eun Ha Namkung ◽  
Deborah Carr

We examine whether perceived interpersonal discrimination mediates the association between disability and psychological well-being (depression, negative and positive affect) and how these processes differ across the life course. Data are from two waves (2004–2006; 2013–2014) of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS; N = 2,503). Perceived discrimination accounts for 5% to 8% of the association between disability and the three mental health outcomes. Moderated mediation analyses reveal significant age differences; perceived discrimination is a stronger explanatory mechanism among midlife (ages 40–64) relative to older (age 65+) adults. Disability stigma takes a heightened psychological toll at midlife, a life stage when adults are expected to be able-bodied and interact with a diverse social network, which may be a source of interpersonal mistreatment. Among older adults, for whom impairment is expected and common, the psychological impact of disability may operate through other pathways. We discuss implications for research and practice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S128-S129
Author(s):  
Melanie S Hill ◽  
James E Hill ◽  
Stephanie Richardson ◽  
Jessica Brown ◽  
Jeremy B Yorgason ◽  
...  

Abstract Identity scholars have suggested that having a unified sense of past, present, and future is related to positive well-being outcomes (Whitbourne, Sneed & Skultety, 2009). One’s occupation can have a profound influence on an individual’s identity throughout the life course (Nazar & van der Heijden, 2012). Research has looked at career mobility among younger age groups (Baiyun, Ramkissoon, Greenwood, & Hoyte, 2018); however, less is known about the impact of career stability later in life. Consistency in career choice over the life course may have positive outcomes down the line as career becomes part of an individual's identity. The current study uses the Life and Family Legacies dataset, a longitudinal state-representative sample of 3,348, to examine individual’s careers at three points in the life course: high school (projected career choice), early adulthood, and later life. Results revealed that a match of desired career in high school and actual career in early adulthood was not predictive of life satisfaction or depressive symptoms in later life. However, a match of career in early adulthood and later life was significantly related to better life satisfaction and less depressive symptoms, which was explained through higher levels of job satisfaction. This study highlights the importance of acquiring and maintaining a career that is fulfilling to the individual over the course of early adulthood to later life.


Author(s):  
Stefanie König ◽  
Magnus Lindwall ◽  
Georg Henning ◽  
Boo Johansson

This study conceptualizes retirement as a lens with regard to patterns of social inequality across the life course. It investigates if socioeconomic differences in well-being and cognitive performance differ between older workers and retirees, using data from the HEARTS (Health, Aging and Retire- ment Transitions in Sweden) study. The results provide evidence for retirement as a positive lenswith regard to cognition, following the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis. We also find evidence for retire- ment as a negative lens with regard to well-being, supporting the cumulative (dis-)advantages theory.We test different aspects of socioeconomic status, that is, education, income, occupationalgroup, and subjective work aspects and find the strongest effects for education. Hence, this studycontributes with an understanding of mechanisms behind social inequalities over the life-course by using retirement and the loss of the work role as a marker for potential change


2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin B. Dickerson ◽  
Matthew Lee Smith ◽  
Erica Sosa ◽  
E. Lisako McKyer ◽  
Marcia G. Ory

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 832-832
Author(s):  
Agus Surachman ◽  
Alexis Santos ◽  
Jonathan Daw ◽  
Lacy Alexander ◽  
Christopher Coe ◽  
...  

Abstract Age is a strong predictor of declines in kidney function across adulthood. Using data from 2,045 adults (ages 25-84) in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, we examined the life course pathways through which low parental education, through adult SES and body mass index (BMI), was associated with faster age-related declines in kidney function. Kidney function declines by 0.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 per year across adulthood. Lower parental education, through adult SES and BMI, was associated with higher kidney function among younger adults (Est = -1.61, SE = 0.62, 95%CI = -2.62, -0.60), but lower kidney function among older adults (Est = 0.93, SE = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.11, 1.79). The impact of early socioeconomic adversity on kidney function is initiated by kidney hyperfiltration in early adulthood and followed by faster declines and development into disease state in later adulthood.


2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margie E. Lachman ◽  
Salom Teshale ◽  
Stefan Agrigoroaei

We provide evidence for multidirectionality, variability, and plasticity in the nature and direction of change in physical health, cognitive functioning, and well-being during the middle years of the life course. The picture of well-being in midlife based on longitudinal data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study is a more positive one than portrayed in previous cross-sectional studies. We present middle age as a pivotal period in the life course in terms of balancing growth and decline, linking earlier and later periods of life, and bridging younger and older generations. We highlight the role of protective factors and multisystem resilience in mitigating declines. Those in middle age play a central role in the lives of those who are younger and older at home, in the workplace, and in society at large. Thus, a focus on promoting health and well-being in middle age can have a far-reaching impact.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 507-508
Author(s):  
Kent Jason Cheng ◽  
Maria Brown ◽  
Woosang Hwang ◽  
Merril Silverstein

Abstract Past studies on the influence of religiosity on psychological well-being tended to be cross-sectional in nature and neglected generational differences. In this study, we assess how religiosity in early adulthood (mean age = 19) affects baby-boomers’ psychological well-being over the life course. We used waves 1 to 9 or 45 years of survey data from the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG) (N=798), a sample of Southern Californians. First, we used latent class analyses on five domains to identify three typologies of baby boomers’ religiosity in early adulthood. We call these typologies “strongly religious,” “weakly religious,” and “personally religious.” Then, we used latent growth curve modelling to ascertain the influence of these religiosity typologies on psychological wellbeing from waves 1 to 9, controlling for time-invariant (religious affiliation, age, sex, race, parental income) and varying (religious salience, education, marital status, and annual income) factors. We found that the strongly religious have a consistently upward psychological wellbeing trend throughout the study period whereas wellbeing started to decline for the weakly religious and personally religious at around wave 6, on when they were about mid-40s to almost 50. We provide evidence that religiosity in early adulthood – a period in life characterized by the exploration of various options for the future brought about by greater personal freedom – positively influences baby boomer’s psychological wellbeing over the life course.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 461-461
Author(s):  
Laura Upenieks

Abstract Of all the various forms of adversity experienced during childhood, childhood maltreatment (emotional and physical abuse) is shown to have the largest impacts on mental health and well-being. Yet we still have a limited understanding of why some victims of early maltreatment suffer immense mental health consequences later on in the life course, while others are able to cushion the blow of these early insults. Using two waves of data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS), this study considers change in religiosity as a buffer across three dimensions for victims of childhood abuse: religious importance, attendance, and the specific act of seeking comfort through religion. Results suggest that increases in religious comfort during adulthood are positively associated with adult mental health for victims of abuse, while decreases in religious comfort over time were associated with worse mental health. Changes in religious attendance and religious importance were not significant associated with mental health for victims of abuse. Taken together, my results show that the stress-moderating effects of religion for victims of childhood maltreatment are contingent on the stability or increases or decreases in religiosity over the life course, which has been overlooked in previous work.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Ruining Sun ◽  
Jason N. Houle

In this paper, we contribute to a growing literature on debt and mental health and ask whether patterns of unsecured debt accumulation and repayment over two decades are associated with depressive symptoms at age 50. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 Cohort and group trajectory models, we have three key findings. First, we find substantial heterogeneity in debt trajectories across the life course. Second, respondents who report consistently high debt levels across the life course or who cycle in and out of high debt report significantly more depressive symptoms than respondents who hold consistently low levels of debt. These findings hold for both absolute and relative (debt-to-income) debt. Third, we find that the association between debt and depressive symptoms is strongest among respondents with less than a college degree, but we find less evidence for heterogeneity by race in this cohort.


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