Individualization, opportunity and jeopardy in American women's work and family lives: a multi-state sequence analysis

Long-Term Health Effects of Work Trajectories Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: The Mediating Role of Work, Material, and Social Environments

Using data from 14 waves (2003-2016) of the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) (N = 1,627 individuals aged 45-64; 22778 observations), in this study, we conducted sequence analysis and a multi-categorical variable mediation analysis (1) to examine to what extent long-term work histories exhibit varying degrees of de-standardization and precariousness using sequence analysis (2) to explore the potential mediating effects of work, material, and social environments in the association between multiple work sequences and self-rated health. We found the coexistence of a relatively stable long-term employment pattern and a high prevalence of precariousness. The health and economic risks of precarious work fall disproportionately on older workers. Future researchers should continue to analyze whether the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to long-term changes in the workforce to improve our understanding of and response to working in later life and its health effects.

Work-family trajectories and health: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Work and family lives interact in complex ways across individuals' life courses. In the past decade, many studies constructed work-family trajectories, some also examined the relation with health. The aims of this systematic review were to summarise the evidence from studies constructing work-family trajectories, and to synthesise the evidence on the association between work-family trajectories and health.

METHODS

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, SocINDEX and Web of Science databases. Key search terms related to work, family and trajectories. Studies that built combined work-family trajectories or examined the relationship between work and family trajectories were included. Risk of bias was assessed independently by two authors. The identified work-family trajectories were summarised and presented for men and women, age cohorts and contexts. The evidence on the association with health as antecedent or consequence was synthesised.

RESULTS

Forty-eight studies, based on 29 unique data sources, were included. Thirty-two studies (67%) were published in 2015 or later, and sequence analysis was the primary analytic technique used to construct the trajectories (n = 43, 90%). Trajectories of women were found to be more diverse and complex in comparison with men. Work-family trajectories differed by age cohorts and contexts. Twenty-three studies (48%) examined the association between work-family trajectories and health and most of these studies found significant associations. The results indicate that work-family trajectories characterised by an early transition to parenthood, single parenthood, and weak ties to employment are associated with worse health outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Work-family trajectories differed greatly between men and women, but differences seemed to decrease in the youngest cohorts. Given the current changes in labour markets and family formation processes, it is important to investigate the work and family lives of younger cohorts. Work-family trajectories were associated with health at different life stages. Future research should examine longitudinal associations of work-family trajectories with health and focus on elucidating why and under which circumstances some trajectories are associated with better or worse health compared with other trajectories.

Governing the Life Course through Lifelong Learning: A Multilevel and Multidimensional View

The life course in general, and the educational trajectories of young people in particular, comprise a high degree of complexity as they take place in iterative, recursive and interactive negotiation processes in which numerous actors, institutions and discourses are involved. In this paper, an attempt is made to combine two conceptual discussions—Life Course and Governance—bringing them to bear on the examination of how Lifelong Learning (LLL) policies have been used to govern young people’s life courses. The paper synthesizes different discussions of the complex relations among governance, discourses and structures of opportunity that impact the governing of the life course and particularly educational trajectories. It suggests that the combination of life course research and a governance perspective enables analyzing the governance of educational trajectories along discursive, institutional and relational dimensions of opportunity structures. Considering these various dimensions, the paper argues, allows us to attend to the social interactions, decision-making processes and processing mechanisms that precede and/or underlie educational processes and thus favor or complicate them. The contribution also critically discusses the implications of a governance perspective on life courses and closes with a discussion of the multidimensional and multilevel challenge of governing life course by means of LLL policies.

Changes in labour market histories and their relationship with paid work around state pension age: evidence from three British longitudinal studies

Many countries have implemented policies to extend working lives in response to population ageing, yet there remains little understanding of what drives paid work in later life, nor how this is changing over time. This paper utilises the 1988/89 Survey of Retirement and Retirement Plans, the 1999 British Household Panel Survey and the 2008 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, to investigate drivers of paid work in the ten years surrounding state pension age (SPA) for women and men in, comparing cohorts born in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Using optimal matching analysis with logistic and multinomial regression models, the study assesses the relative importance of lifecourse histories, socio-economic circumstances and contemporaneous factors, in determining paid work in mid- and later life. Participation in paid work in the five years preceding and beyond SPA increased markedly for men and women across cohorts, with women's lifecourses and engagement with paid work changing considerably in these periods. However, for women, a lifetime history of paid work remained a crucially important predictor of paid work in later life, and this relationship has strengthened over time. Experiencing divorce has also become an important driver of paid work around SPA for the youngest cohort. Having children later, and still having a mortgage, also independently predict labour force participation for women and men. Across all cohorts and for women and men, working at these older ages was a function of higher income and better health. These findings suggest that policies which enable people to maintain ties to paid work across the lifecourse may be more effective at encouraging later-life employment than those concerned only with postponing the retirement transition.

Multiple social roles in early adulthood and later mental health in different labour market contexts

Work and family roles entail divergent responsibilities, which can be a source of conflict especially in young adulthood - the so-called "rush-hour" of life. Combining these multiple social roles can result in an accumulation of stress but also be a valuable resource for mental health. The aim of this study is to investigate combined employment, parenthood and partnership trajectories of men and women during early adulthood, and to analyse the relationship of these multiple roles with depressive symptoms at older age. We used harmonised data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) with retrospective information on employment, partnerships and parenthood histories between age 25 and 40 for 18,816 men and 24,686 women (n = 43,502). We applied sequence analysis and clustering to group trajectories into four clusters for women and three clusters for men. We then used multilevel models to analyse the links between combined employment and family roles and later mental health in different historical labour market contexts (indicated by female employment rates). Women and men who did not combine work and family roles between age 25 and 40 report higher levels of depression than those who combined work and family. Results differ by gender and labour market context, with stronger differences between women in countries with higher female employment rates. Overall, combining multiple roles in early adulthood is associated with decreased rather than increased risk for depressive symptoms in older Europeans.

Work-family life courses and psychological distress: Evidence from three British birth cohort studies

This study uses multi-channel sequence analysis to characterize work-family life course types between the ages of 16 and 42, and multivariable logistic regression to examine their association with psychological distress at age 42/43 for men and women in three nationally-representative British birth cohorts born in 1946 (N = 2,858), 1958 (N = 9,140), and 1970 (N = 7,095). We hypothesised that work-family life courses characterized by weaker links to employment and earlier transitions to partnerships and parenthood would be associated with a greater probability of psychological distress at age 42, and that this association would be become more pronounced across cohorts. Levels of psychological distress were higher amongst men and women with weaker long-term ties to employment, although these were largely explained by early life factors. Teen mothers had higher levels of psychological distress in the two later-born cohorts, and this remained unexplained in adjusted models for the 1970 cohort.

Lifetime employment histories and their relationship with 10-year health trajectories in later life: evidence from England

Background

Employment histories influence health. However, most studies have so far investigated cross-sectional associations between employment histories and health, failing to recognize health as a dynamic process in later life.

Methods

We use Waves 3–8 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, including retrospective information on respondents’ employment activities. We used dynamic hamming distances to summarize lifetime employment histories up to state pension age (64 for men and 59 for women). Multilevel growth curve models were then used to estimate the influence of lifetime employment histories on later life health trajectories over a 10-year period using quality of life (QoL), somatic health, and depression.

Results

Net of selection effect and a host of contemporaneous material and social resources, men who exited early started off with poorer health than those with continuous attachment to the labour market but had a very similar health profile by the end of the 10-year period considered. Among women, better somatic health and higher QoL were observed among those who had employment breaks for family care, and this health advantage was maintained over time. Lifetime employment histories are not related to depression for either men or women.

Conclusion

Overall, differences in health by employment histories level off only among men who left earlier and those continuously employed. Flexible arrangements for men in poor health who benefit from leaving the labour market early and supporting women who wish to take breaks for family care may help reduce health inequalities in later life.

Work histories of older adults in China: Social heterogeneity and the pace of de-standardisation

Inequalities in the labour market are recognised as presenting a major impediment to extending the working lives of older adults in China as part of any proposed reforms of the public pension system against the background of population ageing. While a growing body of literature has paid attention to understanding this issue within the wider international context, there remains a dearth of research on work histories in China. This research which is crucial for the understanding of inequalities in later life. This paper provides a unique evidence on the work experiences over the life course of 7281 Chinese individuals aged 60 and over (born between 1930-1954), using retrospective life history data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. With the application of sequence analysis and cluster analysis, results reveal a picture of significant social heterogeneity within work trajectories between urban and rural areas and between men and women. Such differences are largely shaped by the wider economic and institutional context, as well as by key personal characteristics such as educational attainment. More importantly, cohort comparisons highlight how different groups of current Chinese older alduts have been affected by changes in the labour market and the public pension system over the past sixty years. Whilst it is to be expected that younger cohorts amongst today's older population will have experienced some de-standardisation of work trajectories following the opening up of the economy since the 1980s, the heterogeneity in work trajectories across different social groups within and between cohorts is notable. These findings emphasise the importance of ensuring policy design that delivers equitable pension entitlements and supports flexible working patterns in order to reduce inequalities in the labour market between rural and urban residents and between men and women.

Girls' transition to adulthood and their later life socioeconomic attainment: Findings from the English longitudinal study of ageing

Transitions to adulthood represent a sensitive period for setting young people into particular life course trajectories, and the nature of these transitions have varied more for girls, historically, than for boys. We aim to investigate the long-term significance of different transitions out of full-time education for socioeconomic attainment in later life amongst postwar young women in England. Our data are from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing for girls born during World War II and the post-war period (1939-1952, n = 1798). Using sequence analysis, we identified six types of transition out of full-time education between ages 14 and 26: Early-Work, Mid-Work, Late-Work, Early-Domestic, Late-Domestic, and Part-time Mixed. We used linear and multinomial regression models to examine associations between transition types and socioeconomic attainment outcomes from age 50, including individual income, household income and wealth, and occupational class. Our study found that later transitions into employment (Mid-Work and Late-Work) were associated with higher socioeconomic attainment after age 50 compared with women who made early transitions from education to employment (Early-Work); much of the advantage of making later transitions to employment was due to higher educational attainment. We also found that early transitions to domestic work (Early-Domestic) set young women onto trajectories of lower socioeconomic attainment than compared with those who made early transitions to employment, suggesting the nature of the transition from full-time education is as important as the timing, perhaps uniquely for women. A pathway of cumulative advantage/disadvantage is also evident in our study; results suggest a partial mediating role for educational attainment in associations between childhood social class and later life socioeconomic attainment.

Changes in work and care trajectories during the transition to motherhood

In most mid- and high-income countries, there have been significant demographic, structural, and cultural changes in the past decades. However, we know little about how these changes have shaped women's work patterns during a key life stage: the transition to motherhood. Using longitudinal data from Chile, covering over 30 years of employment histories and three periods of first births (1980-2010), I conduct sequence analysis to identify women's work-care trajectories during an eight-year period of the transition to motherhood. Over time, I find that continuous care work at home has declined, for which education plays a key role, while the chances of working continuously have not changed over time. Instead, I find an increasing trend of unsteady paths that combine paid work with either caretaking or unemployment. I discuss how these changes, as well as their association with education, have important implications for both gender and social inequality.

Linked work lives: The interrelation of own and partner's employment history and their relationship with mental health in older European couples

INTRODUCTION

There is strong evidence for the importance of previous employment for mental health at older age but little is known about the role of partner's employment history in this. Life course theory suggests that individual trajectories are linked and evidence from cross-sectional studies suggest that there are cross-over effects within couples. Therefore, the present study tests the interdependence of own and partner's employment history and their relationship with depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Analyses are based on retrospective data from the SHARE survey for 5664 long-term couples aged 50 or older, with employment information for each age between 30 and 50 (full-time, part-time, domestic work or non-employed). We use sequence analysis to group similar employment histories and relate own and partner's employment histories with depressive symptoms (EURO-D) using regression models.

RESULTS

Results show that own and partner's employment history are interdependent and mainly follow traditional divisions of paid work, with the majority of men working full-time and women often working part-time or not working. We find increased depressive symptoms after longer episodes of non-employment for men but not for women, regardless of partner's employment situation.

CONCLUSION

The study shows that mental health later in life is related to own employment history and that this relationship is not moderated by partner's employment history. The results need to be interpreted against cultural and gender role norms at the time.

Destandardization in later age spans in Western Germany: Evidence from sequence analysis of family life courses

Prior research has suggested that destandardization is a phenomenon that does not affect all aspects of the life course uniformly. There is, however, no existing evidence from a holistic perspective that different life phases are affected by destandardization differently, even though this is likely to be the case in light of prior research on the pluralization of living arrangements and the destandardization of life course events. This question is particularly salient in the German context, as previous research has shown that standardization has characterized the early life phases in Germany, whereas destandardization has been dominant in many other European countries. Analyses of family life courses in Western Germany using data from the National Educational Panel Survey (NEPS) provide evidence that both postponement and the increasing diversity of union types cause destandardization in later life phases, and that this process is most pronounced during the phase in which individuals often start a family (i.e., in their early thirties). Overall, these findings suggest that the comparative analysis of destandardization in different age spans can help to provide a comprehensive picture of life course change.

Work–family lifecourses and later-life health in the United Kingdom

Socio-economic inequalities in physical and mental health persist at older ages and previous studies have shown that partnership and parenthood histories are also associated with differentials in later-life health. These domains of adult life interact, and both may be influenced by earlier life circumstances, indicating a need for a holistic approach to understanding lifecourse influences on health at older ages. In this paper, we identify classes of lifecourse types for a United Kingdom (UK) cohort born 1933–1945 and investigate differences between the latent classes identified in physical and mental health, and changes in health over a five-year follow-up period. Data were drawn from Waves 1–5 (2009–2013) of the nationally representative UK Household Longitudinal Study. Multi-level models were used to analyse associations with summary indicators of physical and mental health measured using the SF-12, and changes in health, controlling for childhood circumstances and taking account of support from family and friends in later life. Lifecourses characterised by lower socio-economic position, early parenthood and large family size were associated with worse physical and mental health in later life, with respondents who had combined a high socio-economic position and two children being the most advantaged. The study indicates that socio-economic disparities in later-life health vary depending on the way in which individuals combine work and family life.

Finding Jobs, Forming Families, and Stressing Out? Work, Family, and Stress among Young Adult Women in the United States

The transition to adulthood is increasingly characterized by complex paths into the world of work and family, especially for young women. Yet how work and family combine to influence stress among young adult women is not well understood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we leverage new extensions to latent class analysis (LCA) to identify common combinations of work and family circumstances among young adult women, their earlier life and contemporaneous correlates, and associations with two stress measures: a multi-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Epstein–Barr Viral (EBV) antibody titers, a well-validated biomarker of stress-related immunity impairments. We identify seven different common combinations of latent work–family combinations among young adult women ranging from well-compensated professional workers with and without children, mothers without paid employment, and delayed transitions to work and family. Completing a college degree was associated with a higher likelihood of membership in classes marked by professional work irrespective of motherhood, while being raised in a community with greater female labor opportunities was generally associated with membership in child-free classes. Mothers and child-free women in “pink-collar” work with low wages and decision-marking freedom reported higher stress compared to women in “white-collar” work with higher wages and decision-making freedom. These differences are mostly attenuated following adjustments for poverty-related stressors and work–family conflict. While prior work has emphasized the health benefits for women of combining work and family, our research suggests these benefits may be limited to women of higher socioeconomic status with flexible, well-compensated jobs.

Gendered work-family trajectories and depression at older age

Objectives: The paper identifies types of work-family trajectories of men and women and investigates their links with depression at older age. Method: We use data from the Heinz Nixdorf Recall study, with retrospective information on employment histories and parenthood between age 20 and 50 (1482 men and 1537 women, born between 1925 and 1955). We apply sequence analysis and group trajectories into six clusters for each gender. We test their association with two alternative measures of depression: self-reported depressive symptoms and intake of antidepressant medication. Multivariate models exclude participants with early life depression and adjust for age, marital status, education, and income. Results: We find clear differences of work-family trajectories between men and women, where women's trajectories are generally more diverse, and include family leaves and returns into full or part-time work. For men, work-family trajectories are neither related to depressive symptoms nor to medication intake. In contrast, women who returned into full-time work after family leave show more depression than those who return part-time, both in terms of depressive symptoms and intake of antidepressant medication. Conclusion: Our findings show gender differences in terms of work-family trajectories and their health-related consequences. In particular, findings suggest that mothers who return to full-time work are a vulnerable group for depression at older age and should be the focus of further research attention.

Gender career divide and women's disadvantage in depressive symptoms and physical limitations in France

This study investigated the relationship between women's disadvantage in mental health and physical functioning and gender differences in career backgrounds. Sexual division of labor persists and key career characteristics are overrepresented in women: low-skilled first job, downward occupational trajectory, interruptions. These interrelated characteristics are usually linked to poor health. Their overrepresentation in women may be related to the female-male health gap; however, it may not if overrepresentation transposed into substantially weaker associations with poor health outcomes. To address this question, we used the French population survey "Health and Occupational Trajectories" (2006) and focused on 45-74 year-old individuals who ever worked (n=7537). Past career characteristics were qualified by retrospective information. Logistic regressions identified past characteristics related to current depressive symptoms and physical limitations. Non-linear decomposition showed whether these characteristics contributed to the gender health gap, through their different distribution and/or association with health. The overrepresentation of unskilled first jobs, current and past inactivity and unemployment in women contributed to their excess depressive symptoms. These contributions were only slightly reduced by the weaker mental health-relatedness of current inactivity in women and increased by the stronger relatedness of low-skilled and self-employed first jobs. Overrepresentation of current inactivity, past interruptions and downward trajectories also contributed positively to women's excess physical limitations. Gender-specific career backgrounds were significantly linked to women's disadvantage in mental health and physical functioning. We need to further explore whether equalization of opportunities, especially at the early stages and in terms of career continuity, could help to reduce women's mental and physical health disadvantage.