Using a sample of Chinese adults over the age of 50 from wave 1 of the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (n = 13,367), we investigated the relationship between living arrangements and subjective well-being (SWB) in regard to life satisfaction, happiness, and control. We also looked at the moderating role of resources, proxied by income and hukou status. Multivariate regression results indicate that living only with a spouse was significantly associated with better SWB. Multigenerational living arrangements may not always promote SWB, particularly when resources are constrained. Yet, results also underscore the importance of daughters and daughters-in-law in promoting SWB among older adults. Older adults in rural areas had better SWB, including greater life satisfaction if living with grandchildren only, compared to their urban peers living with a spouse only. Findings suggest that context matters in the association between living arrangements and older adults’ SWB.
Background and Objectives
This scoping review aimed to chart the scientific literature on the association between workplace demands with cognitive health, and whether race and ethnicity have a direct or indirect relationship between occupational complexity and cognitive health.
Research Design and Methods
PRISMA Scoping Review guided this study. Peer-reviewed articles were drawn from five databases. Inclusion criteria were populations aged 18+, US based studies, a comprehensive conceptualization of workplace demands and cognitive health outcomes. All articles were screened by title and abstract; qualifying articles proceeded to full text review.
Results
The majority of studies drew from theories that did not interrogate heterogeneity and minority aging experiences. Consequently, the majority of studies did not include race and ethnicity in their analyses. A small and growing body of research drew from critical perspectives and interrogated cognitive health inequities by race and ethnicity within the context of workplace demands. The association between workplace demands and cognitive health is not linear when race and ethnicity are examined. Emerging evidence suggests interventions to improve substantive complexity among racial and ethnic minorities, and individuals with low education, is a promising avenue for intervention research.
Discussion and Implications
We discuss integrating emerging theories, such as minority stress and revised social determinants of health frameworks, to sharpen the focus, and broaden our understanding on, racial and ethnic cognitive health inequities in an emerging area of prevention research. This research can advance our basic understanding of preventable health inequities as well as provide important information for interventions.
This study used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data to investigate how an understudied group of Indigenous Older Adults (IOAs) in the United States fared over a 14-year period (2006-2020) in the domain of global cognitive function. The number of IOAs, defined here as Native American and Alaska Natives, will more than double in the next 30 years. Concurrently, the number of IOAs living with cognitive impairments will also increase. Guided by the Minority Stress and Cognition Model, we tested the hypothesis that discriminatory stress increases the risk of cognitive impairment in later life. Using a robust set of psychosocial (e.g. educational quality, perceived everyday discrimination experiences), behavioral (e.g. substance use, exercise), and physiological (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, obesity) risk factors, we modeled the cognition trajectories 186 IOAs using mixed growth curves. We found that one third of these IOAs reported experiencing everyday discrimination at least once per month, the highest of any ethnic group. They also reported high rates of other risk factors for cognitive impairment like low education, SES, and physical activity, and high rates of depression and chronic health conditions. Our analysis found that everyday discrimination was negatively associated with total cognition among IOAs but that this relationship was mediated by allostatic loads. On average, the total cognition scores of IOAs declined significantly faster than those of Whites. This study has important implications for the integration of stress as a mechanism for cognitive decline and the health equity of Indigenous older adults.
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