scholarly journals Measuring the Nature of Individual Sequences

2021 ◽  
pp. 004912412110361
Author(s):  
Gilbert Ritschard
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Composite Measures ◽  
Complexity Index ◽  
Individual Sequences ◽  
Evolution Of Life ◽  
State Changes ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course

This study reviews and compares indicators that can serve to characterize numerically the nature of state sequences. It also introduces several new indicators. Alongside basic measures such as the length, the number of visited distinct states, and the number of state changes, we shall consider composite measures such as turbulence and the complexity index, and measures that take account of the nature (e.g., positive vs. negative or ranking) of the states. The discussion points out the strange behavior of some of the measures—Elzinga’s turbulence and the precarity index of Ritschard, Bussi, and O’Reilly in particular—and propositions are made to avoid these flaws. The usage of the indicators is illustrated with two applications using data from the Swiss Household Panel. The first application tests the U-shape hypothesis about the evolution of life satisfaction along the life course, and the second one examines the scarring effect of earlier employment sequences.

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.

scholarly journals Trajectories of Unsecured Debt across the Life Course and Mental Health at Midlife

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Ruining Sun ◽  
Jason N. Houle
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Debt Accumulation ◽  
Unsecured Debt ◽  
Trajectory Models ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Substantial Heterogeneity

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.

The Importance of School Attendance: Findings From the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development on the Life-Course Effects of Truancy

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 592-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rocque ◽  
Wesley G. Jennings ◽  
Alex R. Piquero ◽  
Turgut Ozkan ◽  
David P. Farrington
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Problem Drinking ◽  
School Attendance ◽  
Later Life ◽  
School Dropout ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Childhood Risk Factors ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Relationship

School dropout has been extensively studied in the literature as a correlate of negative life outcomes. A precursor to school dropout is truancy, the unexcused or illegitimate student absence from school. Few studies have examined the relationship between truancy and involvement in crime and adjustment more generally over the life-course. This study extends previous work by exploring whether truancy at age 12 to 14 is related to later life outcomes such as crime, aggression, and adjustment using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Results indicate that truancy has long-lasting associations with negative life outcomes, especially for non-violent crime and problem drinking. Importantly, these findings hold for certain outcomes controlling for a comprehensive host of environmental and individual childhood risk factors.

Social Characteristics as Predictors of ADHD Labeling across the Life Course

2020 ◽  
pp. 215686932091653
Author(s):  
Melissa Thompson ◽  
Lindsey Wilkinson ◽  
Hyeyoung Woo
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Adhd Symptoms ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
National Longitudinal Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
First Time

Although originally considered to be a disorder of childhood, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is increasingly being diagnosed for the first time in adulthood. Yet we know little about the social characteristics (race, gender, and social class) of those first labeled in adulthood, how these differ from those first labeled in childhood/adolescence, and whether the ADHD label is applied proportionately across social groups given ADHD symptomology. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, the current research considers how typifications of ADHD affect application of the ADHD label in childhood/adolescence and in adulthood. Results indicate that even after controlling for ADHD symptoms, social characteristics are important predictors of the ADHD label in childhood/adolescence but are less influential in predicting ADHD labeling in adulthood. Additionally, results indicate the importance of race in moderating the association between childhood ADHD symptoms and application of the ADHD label throughout the life course.

Making Sense of Heterogeneity in the Influence of Childhood Abuse, Mental Health, and Drug Use on Women’s Offending Pathways

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1565-1587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Broidy ◽  
Jason Payne ◽  
Alex R. Piquero
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Internalizing Symptoms ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Pathways Model ◽  
Female Offending ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course

Building from the developmental and life course literature and the feminist pathways literature, we aim to detail when and how exposure to abuse in childhood shapes female offending trajectories. Using data from 470 female offenders in Australia, our analyses assess whether internalizing symptoms and drug use help explain the link between early abuse and later offending among females. We then examine whether these links are most acute for females who onset early and evidence chronic involvement in offending. In support of the feminist pathways model, we find evidence for a pathway from early abuse to internalizing symptoms to drug use and then offending. In addition, and in line with the life course literature, we also find important differences in how these risks unfold across women, depending particularly on age of onset and offending chronicity. We reflect on the implications of our findings for theory and intervention with respect to female offending.

scholarly journals CONTINUITY OF CAREER OVER THE LIFE COURSE ON LIFE SATISFACTION AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN LATER LIFE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S128-S129
Author(s):  
Melanie S Hill ◽  
James E Hill ◽  
Stephanie Richardson ◽  
Jessica Brown ◽  
Jeremy B Yorgason ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

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.

Racial Differences in Multigenerational Living Arrangements in 1910

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Elman ◽  
Andrew S. London
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
European Americans ◽  
Kin Support ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course

We explore racial differences in multigenerational living arrangements in 1910, focusing on trigenerational kin structures. Coresidence across generations represents a public function of the family, and we observe this across different ages or life-course stages through which adults came to be at risk for providing simultaneous household support for multiple generations of kin dependents. Using data from the 1.4 percent 1910 Integrated Public Use Microdata Sample, our comparisons adjust for marital turnover, including widow(er)hood/divorce and remarriage, as rates are known to be historically higher among African Americans in this period. Across subgroups defined by age and sex, we find that African Americans are virtually always as likely as or more likely than European Americans (of both native and foreign parentage) to live as grandparents in trigenerational households. Widow(er)hood/divorce generally increased the likelihood of trigenerational coresidence, while remarriage sometimes increased, sometimes decreased, and sometimes had no association with this living arrangement. Also, we find that the life-course staging of household kin support in 1910 differed across race/generation partly due to different economic and demographic circumstances, suggesting more complexity in kin support than previously considered. We discuss these findings in relation to the histories of African American and European American families as well as their implications for future research.

Analyzing the Heterogeneous Nature of Inmate Behavior: Trajectories of Prison Misconduct

2017 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Cihan ◽  
Megan Davidson ◽  
Jonathan Sorensen
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Institutional Misconduct ◽  
Inmate Misconduct ◽  
Prison Misconduct ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
State Police ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Offending Patterns ◽  
The Life Course

Researchers have long been interested in stability and changes in offending patterns between and within individuals during the life-course. Using data from the Oregon Department of Corrections and the Oregon State Police, the current study explores misconduct trajectories and also attempts to determine whether certain preprison inmate characteristics specified in the importation model are associated with various misconduct trajectories. Results indicate that there are subgroups of inmates engaged in different patterns of institutional misconduct during the course of years of imprisonment. In addition, certain inmate characteristics can be used to explain the identified heterogeneity in inmate misconduct. Findings from trajectory analyses can be useful to prison officials and policy makers when planning prison services, assistance, and programming for subgroups of inmates.

scholarly journals Retirement as a lens for socioeconomic differences in Cognition and well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie König ◽  
Magnus Lindwall ◽  
Georg Henning ◽  
Boo Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Role ◽  
Socioeconomic Differences ◽  
Health Aging ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course

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

scholarly journals Concentration of Critical Events over the Life Course and Life Satisfaction later in life

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara L. Comolli ◽  
Danilo Bolano ◽  
Laura Bernardi ◽  
Marieke Voorpostel
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Critical Events ◽  
Family Work ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Life Course

Critical events are occurrences that create turning points, disrupt individuals’ life courses and affect wellbeing. Here, we investigate how the co-occurrence of critical events and, in particular, the spacing in time of events across the life course influences life satisfaction in later life. We argue that life phases densely populated of critical events may translate into an acute resource drain affecting wellbeing in long term more strongly than if the same events were sparsely distributed. We use retrospective biographical information on critical events in family, work, health and residential trajectories in Switzerland to construct a life course Concentration Index of events based on the number, the time-lag between the occurrences and the number of life domains involved. Our results show that the higher is the concentration in time of critical events, the stronger will be their negative long-term effect on wellbeing, net of socio-demographic characteristics, of the total number of events ever experienced and of the time since the last event. Furthermore, such negative effect is even stronger if the person experienced periods dense of events during midlife and older adulthood than during youth or early adulthood.

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