Visions of the Life Course: Risks, Resources, and Vulnerability

Resilience Among Undocumented Migrants: An Analysis of the Likelihood to Participate in a Panel Study Among Undocumented Migrants Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

Undocumented migrants, known for their particularly vulnerable living conditions, were deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, some demonstrated resilience, successfully remaining in their host countries. Drawing on insights from the Parchemins study, which examined the experiences of undocumented and newly regularized migrants in Geneva, Switzerland, this paper details on undocumented migrants that faced accumulated difficulties during different moments of data collection amid the pandemic. Based on empirical findings, we observe that only a specific group among undocumented migrants continued to participate in the study post-pandemic. This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of "remainers" and those who dropped out. This indicator serves as a proxy for understanding resilience among the most vulnerable in times of crisis. Through regression models, we identify the factors influencing the likelihood of remaining in the panel as undocumented even in the face of a major crisis that negatively impacted various life domains. Our analysis reveals that the chance of remaining in Geneva amidst the pandemic was influenced by solidarity bonds, prior migration experience, as well as income developments and housing situations.

Undiagnosed prediabetes in Mexican adolescents under poverty in contexts affected by collective violence: A clinical comparison among health services users and hidden population

Introduction

The epidemiological pattern of prediabetes in adolescents is understudied. In Mexico, adolescents are exposed to social adversity conditions, including poverty and violence. Therefore, understanding their clinical profiles and how the social determinants of health impose barriers to access to health services is important to address detection, in those who, by their vulnerability, remain a hidden population.

Aim

This study aimed to describe undiagnosed prediabetes in Mexican adolescents under poverty in violent contexts and to compare the clinical features among health services users and hidden population.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 371 adolescents from difficult access locations in violent contexts. Poverty, lack of health services access, and perceived vulnerability were determined in all samples. Endocrine markers (BMI, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, and cortisol) were measured in those with high violence perception.

Results

A total of 61.7% of the adolescents had a suburban grid and urban cluster residence, and 77.7-85.7% of them belonged to locations where 35-50% of their population lived below the poverty line. In total, 40-75% had a lack of 10-20% access to health services, and 18.8% had a high perceived vulnerability due to collective violence and were screened. Overall, 61.9% of respondents were newly diagnosed with prediabetes and showed the worst HbA1c (p = 0.001) compared to the health services subsample, which showed the highest BMI (p = 0.031) and insulin resistance (p = 0.025).

Conclusion

There is a prediabetes hidden population living in violent contexts under poverty. These social determinants promote poor outcomes in perceived vulnerability and endocrine response and represent barriers to access to health services.

Benevolent Childhood Experiences and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Undergraduates: A Moderated Mediation Model Examining the Roles of Uncertainty Stress and Family Relationship

Background: The evidence on the association between benevolent childhood experience (BCE) and depressive symptoms in students is complex. This study aims to explore the underlying mediation mechanism of BCE toward depressive symptoms and whether this link was moderated by the family relationship among Chinese undergraduates. Methods: From March 2021 to May 2021, a cross-sectional study was conducted in China, and 1821 undergraduates were recruited in this study. Participants were asked to complete a self-reported electronic questionnaire. The software SPSS PROCESS macro was used to test the mediation and mediated moderated modeling analysis. Results: Mediation analysis indicated that uncertainty stress (US) partly mediated the link between BCE and depressive symptoms (indirect effect = -0.47, 95% bootstrap CI = -0.55, -0.39). The indirect effect of the US accounted for 39.63% of the total variance in depression. Moderation analysis indicated that the association between the US and depressive symptoms was significantly modified by family relationships (interact effect = -0.019, P < 0.001). An integrative moderated mediation analysis indicated that the indirect effect from BCE to depressive symptoms through the US was also moderated by family relationships (interact effect = -0.012, P = 0.014). Conclusion: Uncertainty stress plays a key role in bridging BCE and depressive symptoms while the family relationship can buffer the impact of the US on depressive symptoms among Chinese undergraduates. Enhancing tolerance of uncertainty and improving family relationships are needed to protect undergraduates from depressive symptoms.

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.

Gaining Faith, Losing Faith: How Education Shapes the Relationship between Religious Transitions and Later Depression

Using the life course perspective, we assess the "resources" and "risks" to mental health associated with transitions in religious attendance between early life and midlife and how this process may be influenced by education. Drawing on over 35 years of prospective panel data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, baseline models suggest that stable, frequent attendance accumulated between adolescence to midlife and increases to frequent attendance by adulthood are associated with the lowest depression relative to consistent nonattenders. Individuals who declined in their religious participation report higher depression. Education conditioned this association, whereby declines in religious participation negatively impacted the health of those without a college degree more strongly and increases benefitted the well-educated to a greater extent. We combine insights from the life course perspective and work on social stratification and religiosity to interpret our results and offer directives for future research.

Are Positive Childhood Experiences Linked to Better Cognitive Functioning in Later Life?: Examining the Role of Life Course Pathways

Objectives: We examine whether childhood family well-being is associated with cognitive functioning and to what extent the association between the family context and cognitive functioning is explained by adulthood resources. Methods: Data are drawn from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project Wave 3 (2015/2016; N = 3361). We measured cognitive functioning using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Childhood family factors included family-life happiness, family structure, and family socioeconomic status. Education, social connectedness, self-mastery, and self-rated health were assessed as adulthood resources. Results: Respondents who grew up in a happy family had significantly higher levels of cognitive functioning. The formal mediation test suggests that a happy family life during childhood has a positive association with later cognition, in part, by enhancing self-mastery in adulthood. Discussion: Our findings provide evidence that positive childhood experiences are linked to later life cognition. The sense of control people have over their life circumstances is one potential pathway explaining this association.