The increasing educational divide in the life course development of subjective wellbeing across cohorts

2021 ◽  
pp. 000169932110556
Author(s):  
Alexander Patzina
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Educational Inequality ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Health Satisfaction ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Middle Range ◽  
Low Educated ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Income Satisfaction

Labour market, health, and wellbeing research provide evidence of increasing educational inequality as individuals age, representing a pattern consistent with the mechanism of cumulative (dis)advantage. However, individual life courses are embedded in cohort contexts that might alter life course differentiation processes. Thus, this study analyses cohort variations in education-specific life course patterns of subjective wellbeing (i.e. life, health and income satisfaction). Drawing upon prior work and theoretical considerations from life course theories, this study expects to find increasing educational life course inequality in younger cohorts. The empirical analysis relies on German Socio-Economic Panel data (1984–2016, v33). The results obtained from cohort-averaged random effects growth curve models confirm the cumulative (dis)advantage mechanism for educational life course inequality in subjective wellbeing. Furthermore, the results reveal substantial cohort variation in life course inequality patterns: regarding life and income satisfaction, the results indicate that the cumulative (dis)advantage mechanism does not apply to the youngest cohorts (individuals born between 1970 and 1985) under study. In contrast, the health satisfaction results suggest that educational life course inequality follows the predictions of the cumulative (dis)advantage mechanism only for individuals born after 1959. While the life course trajectories of highly educated individuals change only slightly across cohorts, the subjective wellbeing trajectories of low-educated individuals start to decline at earlier life course stages in younger cohorts, leading to increasing life course inequality over time. Thus, the overall findings of this study contribute to our understanding of whether predictions derived from sociological middle range theories are universal across societal contexts.

scholarly journals Joint Family and Work Trajectories and Multidimensional Wellbeing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Comolli ◽  
L. Bernardi ◽  
M. Voorpostel
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Social Origin ◽  
Employment Trajectories ◽  
Family And Work ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Family Trajectories

AbstractInformed by the life course perspective, this paper investigates whether and how employment and family trajectories are jointly associated with subjective, relational and financial wellbeing later in life. We draw on data from the Swiss Household Panel which combines biographical retrospective information on work, partnership and childbearing trajectories with 19 annual waves containing a number of wellbeing indicators as well as detailed socio-demographic and social origin information. We use sequence analysis to identify the main family and work trajectories for men and women aged 20–50 years old. We use OLS regression models to assess the association between those trajectories and their interdependency with wellbeing. Results reveal a joint association between work and family trajectories and wellbeing at older age, even net of social origin and pre-trajectory resources. For women, but not for men, the association is also not fully explained by proximate (current family and work status) determinants of wellbeing. Women’s stable full-time employment combined with traditional family trajectories yields a subjective wellbeing premium, whereas childlessness and absence of a stable partnership over the life course is associated with lower levels of financial and subjective wellbeing after 50 especially in combination with a trajectory of weak labour market involvement. Relational wellbeing is not associated with employment trajectories, and only weakly linked to family trajectories among men.

Criminal Careers and Immigration: An Analysis of Offending Over the Life Course Among Homicide Inmates in Texas

2021 ◽  
pp. 001112872110399
Author(s):  
Erin A. Orrick ◽  
Chris Guerra ◽  
Alex R. Piquero
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Growth Curve ◽  
Criminal Careers ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Administrative Records ◽  
Criminal Histories ◽  
Crime Types ◽  
The Life Course

The purpose of this study is to examine differences in patterns of criminal arrests between US citizens and foreign citizens among a sample of individuals incarcerated for homicide in Texas. Data for this project come from administrative records of inmates incarcerated in Texas for homicide. Drawing from the criminal careers literature, official arrest records are assessed to compare differences in criminal histories with growth curve models for the examination of criminal careers of non-Texas born US citizens and foreign citizens. Notable findings are that the age-crime curves are remarkably similar between the two groups, but the curves differ in degree, with those of US citizens peaking significantly higher across all crime types examined.

scholarly journals The life course and subjective well-being across generations – an analysis based on cross-national surveys (2002–2016)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideko Matsuo ◽  
Koen Matthijs
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Native People ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Positive Assessment ◽  
The Life Course

This paper identifies subjective well-being trajectories through happiness measures as influenced by time, socio-economic, demographic and behavioural determinants. Hierarchical age-period-cohort models are applied to European Social Survey (2002–2016) data on the population aged 30 and older in 10 countries. A U-shaped relationship between age and happiness is found for some countries, but a rather flat pattern and considerable diversity beyond age 80 are detected for other countries. Lower happiness levels are found for baby boomers (1945–1964) than for preboomers and post-boomers, and also for late boomers (1955–1964) than for early boomers (1945–1954). Women, highly educated and native people are shown to have higher happiness levels than men, less educated and non-native people, respectively. Moreover, a positive assessment of income, having a partner, and being a parent, in good health, employed and socially active are all found to have a positive impact on happiness levels. We find evidence of gaps in happiness levels due to differences in socio-economic characteristics over the life course in some, but not in all of the countries analysed.

scholarly journals CHANGES IN SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE AND DEMENTIA ONSET IN JAPAN GERONTOLOGICAL EVALUATION STUDY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S191-S191
Author(s):  
Ryoto Sakaniwa ◽  
Ryoto Sakaniwa ◽  
Kokoro Shirai ◽  
hiroyasu iso ◽  
Katsunori Kondo
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Response Pattern ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Dementia Risk ◽  
Single Scale ◽  
Low Educated ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Dementia Onset

Abstract Socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with dementia onset, but its transition throughout the life-course is poorly understood. In a prospective cohort of 40,041 participants, aged over 65 years without dementia, we identified ten optimal classifications of life-course SES transitions and their associated impact on dementia. Our results showed a clear significant dose-response pattern with the highest risk of dementia from 1) impoverished SES throughout, 2) impoverished childhood SES with normal adult SES, 3) impoverished adult SES with self-employed in adulthood, 4) high educated with poor adult SES, 5) never having a job, 6) low educated but high SES (self- employed), 7) technician, 8) high educated with poor adult SES, 9) average SES throughout, and 10) high SES throughout. These results suggest that life-course SES history is strongly associated with dementia risk and did not interact with single scale measurement. Further causal pathways and theories are relevant for disease modification.

scholarly journals The Variability of Occupational Attainment: How Prestige Trajectories Diversified within Birth Cohorts over the Twentieth Century

2020 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 1084-1116
Author(s):  
Philipp M. Lersch ◽  
Wiebke Schulz ◽  
George Leckie
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Intragenerational Mobility ◽  
The Life Course

This study develops and applies a framework for analyzing variability in individuals’ occupational prestige trajectories and changes in average variability between birth cohorts. It extends previous literature focused on typical patterns of intragenerational mobility over the life course to more fully examine intracohort differentiation. Analyses are based on rich life course data for men and women in West Germany born between 1919 and 1979 from the German Life History Study and the German National Educational Panel Study ( N = 16,854 individuals). Mixed-effects growth-curve models with heterogeneous variance components are applied. Results show that birth cohorts systematically differ in their variability; cohorts who entered the labor market in the late 1950s and 1960s and experienced mostly closed employment relations have exceptionally homogenous trajectories. Earlier and later cohorts, who experienced more open employment relations, are more heterogeneous in their trajectories. Cohorts with higher variability at labor market entry are characterized by persistently strong intracohort differentiation. Women’s variability within employment is similar to men’s but markedly increases once employment interruptions are considered.

scholarly journals Heterogeneity in the Relationship between Happiness and Age: Evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregori Baetschmann
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Evolution Of Life ◽  
Age Cohort ◽  
Hump Shape ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Education Groups ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This paper studies the evolution of life satisfaction over the life course in Germany. It clarifies the causal interpretation of the econometric model by discussing the choice of control variables and the underidentification between age, cohort and time effects. The empirical part analyzes the distribution of life satisfaction over the life course at the aggregated, subgroup and individual level. To the findings: On average, life satisfaction is mildly decreasing up to age 55 followed by a hump shape with a maximum at 70. The analysis at the lower levels suggests that people differ in their life satisfaction trends, whereas the hump shape after age 55 is robust. No important differences between men and women are found. In contrast, education groups differ in their trends: highly educated people become happier over the life cycle, where life satisfaction decreases for less-educated people.

Social origin and compensation patterns over the occupational career in Italy

2020 ◽  
pp. 000169932092091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Ballarino ◽  
Stefano Cantalini ◽  
Nazareno Panichella
Keyword(s):  
Career Mobility ◽  
Service Class ◽  
Social Origin ◽  
Job Change ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Occupational Achievement ◽  
Low Educated ◽  
First Job ◽  
Occupational Career

This paper studies dynamically the direct effect of social origin on occupational destinations among men in Italy over the career. It aims at investigating the existence, the pattern over time and the heterogeneity of differences in occupational achievement related to social origins, net of education (DESO) and occupational allocation at first job. It also analyses if the change of the DESO over the career is related to the effect of specific job change episodes (voluntary job change, involuntary job change, internal career move). Results based on growth curve models show the relevance of first job in shaping the DESO, which also slightly increases over the career. The DESO is stronger among highly educated individuals, confirming a boosting pattern primarily driven by a better allocation at first job. The (smaller) DESO among the low-educated, increasing over the career, depends from the higher probabilities to benefit from voluntary and internal career job changes for the children of the service class. The (stronger) DESO among the highly educated is driven by the higher probabilities of experiencing internal career mobility for the children of the service class as well as by their ability to benefit also from an involuntary job change (e.g. dismissal).

scholarly journals Veteran Status and Old Age Depression: A Life Course Epidemiology Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 637-637
Author(s):  
Stephen Frochen ◽  
Connor Sheehan ◽  
Jennifer Ailshire
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Military Service ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Veteran Status ◽  
Old Age Depression ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Selection Mechanisms ◽  
The Military ◽  
Retirement Study

Abstract Military service and exposure to war may influence the development of depression, leading to disparities in the condition among veterans and non-veterans. This study included 10,512 older men from the 1996 to 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We estimated Center for Epidemiology Depression (CESD) score trajectories among veterans and non-veterans and veterans of different war cohorts in growth curve models, controlling for early, mid, and late life characteristics. CESD score trajectories were lower among veterans and war veterans than non-veterans and non-war veterans, respectively. The highest levels of depression were among war veterans who served in more than one war. Veterans demonstrated lower levels of depression than non-veterans, calling into question the health advantage of veterans and selection mechanisms into the military and out of HRS. Multiple war veterans showed the highest levels of depression, representing the greatest mental health threat to veterans in the study. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group.

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