Heterogeneous Effects of Volunteering on Frailty in Later Life: A Panel Quantile Regression Approach.

OBJECTIVES: Decades of research indicate that volunteering is associated with better health for the volunteer beyond the selection effects based on health. However, little is known about potential heterogeneity in health outcomes associated with volunteering in the context of good or poor health. This study addresses this gap by focusing on the frailty index (FI) to investigate the volunteering-health nexus across the population frailty distribution ranging from fit to frail. METHODS: Using nationally representative data from the Health and Retirement Study (person N = 34,986; 198,218 person-wave observations), we estimated unconditional quantile regression models with panel fixed effects to estimate changes in FI associated with changes in the share of volunteers in the population across the frailty distribution observed across the study period (1998-2020). RESULTS: Our findings demonstrated that the volunteering-FI association was heterogeneous across the frailty distribution. The association was the most potent at the higher end of the frailty distribution, suggesting that efforts to promote volunteering may yield greater benefits for older adults experiencing high levels of frailty. DISCUSSION: The current study findings provide unique and compelling evidence in support of earlier calls for considering volunteering as a public health intervention. The study findings are discussed in the context of population health outcomes and health disparities.

Do friends get under the skin?: Everyday social encounters and cardiovascular functioning among Black and White adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: Studies have shown that contact with friends enhances emotional health, but little is known about whether friends influence cardiovascular health. This study investigated (a) whether encounters with friends and the quality of these encounters were associated with cardiovascular reactivity in everyday life and (b) whether these associations varied by race. METHOD: Participants were from the Stress and Well-being in Everyday Life Study which included Black (n = 76; aged = 34-76) and White (n = 87, aged = 34-91) adults residing in the United States. Participants provided background and social network information in a baseline interview, followed by a 4-day ecological momentary assessment in which they reported social encounters every 3 hr. Concurrently, participants wore an electrocardiogram monitor which collected physiological data in real time. To assess cardiovascular reactivity, heart rate variability (HRV) was analyzed. RESULTS: Multilevel models revealed that at times when individuals encountered friends (particularly positive encounters), they exhibited a momentary reduction in HRV (within-person association). But those with more friend encounters during the study period (particularly positive encounters) had higher HRV than those with fewer friend encounters during the study period (between-person association). These links were observed only among Black adults, but not among White adults. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to the conceptual model of social integration and enriches the literature on racial disparities in cardiovascular health from a social perspective. Findings highlight the implications of engagement with friends for momentary cardiovascular reactivity and suggest that friends may be more salient for Black adults' cardiovascular health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Revisiting the caregiver stress process: Does family caregiving really lead to worse mental health outcomes?

While the act of caregiving is often characterized as a stressful experience detrimental to mental health, recent studies are challenging this view by reporting robust health and well-being benefits linked to family caregiving. The current study attempted to provide an explanation of this apparent paradox by focusing on the role played by family health problems in the association between being a caregiver and mental health. Framed within the life course perspective and focusing on caregiving provided to aging mothers, the current study aimed 1) to demonstrate how the linkage between caregiving and depression reported in earlier studies may be misleading and 2) to further investigate whether caregiving to an aging mother may lead to any mental health benefits. Using longitudinal data drawn from the nationally representative US Health and Retirement Study, I follow adult children 50 and older who had a living mother during the observation period (N = 4812; 18,442 person-wave observations). A series of within-between random effects models were estimated to explicate how health conditions of aging mothers (i.e., disability and dementia) and caregiving transitions of adult children were associated with changes in depressive symptoms of adult children. Findings demonstrated that caregiving transitions were unrelated to depressive symptoms among adult children once the model controlled for the confounding effects of having their mother experience disability and dementia. Further, caregiving behavior was found to buffer the direct detrimental effect of maternal disability on adult children's depressive symptoms. This study adds to the growing body of research that cautions against characterizing caregiving as a chronic stressor detrimental to mental health and further echoes earlier calls for a more balanced portrayal of caregiving in policy reports and research literature.

Volunteering and Changes in Cardiovascular Biomarkers: Longitudinal Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

Background and Objectives: Growing body of research shows that volunteering is beneficial for those served, the volunteers, and the larger communities. However, major challenges remain that hinder the practical implications for volunteer activity as a public health intervention, including potential selection effects, lack of longitudinal studies that adjust for baseline characteristics, and a paucity of studies that consider multiple physical health outcomes in a single model. Research Design and Methods: Data from 2006 to 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2016) were used (N = 18,847). Outcome-wide analyses were utilized to evaluate if changes in volunteering between 2006/2008 (t0) and 2010/2012 (t1) were associated with 7 cardiovascular disease biomarkers 4 years later (2014/2016, t2). These models were adjusted for demographic factors, socioeconomic status, health behaviors, chronic conditions, baseline biomarkers, and volunteering. Additionally, selection into volunteering and attrition were taken into account. Results: Compared with nonvolunteers, volunteering more than 200 hr a year was associated with a lower risk for clinically high diastolic blood pressure. In addition, increased volunteering effort (change from 1 to 99 hr at t0 to >100 hr at t1) was associated with a lower likelihood of clinically high systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. Sustained high volunteering (>100 hr at both t0 and t1) was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure. Discussion and Implications: The current study adds to the evidence on the health benefits of volunteering for adults 50 and older by inferring a potential causal link between high-intensity volunteering and reduced blood pressure.

Neighborhood Cohesion Across the Life Course and Effects on Cognitive Aging.

OBJECTIVES: Greater neighborhood cohesion is associated with better cognitive function in adulthood and may serve as a protective factor against cognitive impairment and decline. We build on prior work by examining the effects of perceived neighborhood cohesion across the life course on level and change in cognitive function in adulthood. METHODS: Utilizing longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2016) and its Life History Mail Survey, we leveraged data from 3,599 study participants (baseline age: 51-89) who participated in up to 10 waves. Respondents provided retrospective ratings of neighborhood cohesion at childhood (age 10), young adulthood (age at the first full-time job), early midlife (age 40), and concurrently at baseline (i.e., late midlife/adulthood); they completed the modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status. We fit a univariate latent growth curve model of change in cognitive function across waves and tested whether neighborhood cohesion during each recollected life stage predicted level and change in cognitive function. RESULTS: Greater neighborhood cohesion during childhood and late midlife/adulthood each predicted higher cognitive function at baseline but not the rate of cognitive decline. The final model showed that greater neighborhood cohesion in childhood and in late midlife/adulthood remained significantly associated with higher baseline cognitive function, even after accounting for one another. DISCUSSION: Findings provide insight into life-course neighborhood contextual influences on cognitive aging. Our results emphasize the need for more research to understand the life-course dynamics between neighborhood environments and cognitive aging.

Cognitive function and cognitive decline among older rural Chinese adults: the roles of social support, pension benefits, and medical insurance.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated whether social support, pension benefits, and medical insurance coverage are related to cognitive function and decline among older rural Chinese adults and whether depressive symptoms represented a pathway linking these factors with cognitive function. METHODS: Data are taken from three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (N = 5,135). Cognitive function is assessed with episodic memory and depressive symptoms are assessed with the 10-item CESD Scale. Social support (intergenerational financial transfers, weekly contact with children, perceived availability of future support, and living arrangements), pension benefits, and medical insurance coverage are self-reported measures. Multilevel linear regression models are employed. RESULTS: Intergenerational financial transfers, perceived availability of future support, and pension income are associated with higher levels of cognitive function. Living with others, perceived availability of future support, medical insurance coverage, and pension income are associated with a slower risk of cognitive decline. Depressive symptoms mediated the association between perceived availability of future support, living with others, pension income and level of cognitive function and the link between perceived availability of future support, pension income, and cognitive decline. CONCLUSION: The findings suggested these modifiable factors should be taken into account when screening older adults for possible cognitive impairment and decline. Early interventions may also be helpful by expanding social resources and reducing psychological distress.

Age and Cohort Trends in Formal Volunteering and Informal Helping in Later Life: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study.

Formal volunteering holds great importance for the recipients of volunteer services, individuals who volunteer, and the wider society. However, how much recent birth cohorts volunteer in middle and late adulthood compared with earlier birth cohorts is not well understood. Even less well-known are the age and cohort trends in informal helping provided to friends and neighbors in later adulthood. Using longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study, we estimated age and cohort trends in formal volunteering and informal helping from 1998 to 2018 for a wide range of birth cohorts born between 1909 and 1958. We used multivariate, multilevel models based on Bayesian generalized modeling methods to estimate the probabilities of volunteering and informal helping simultaneously in a single model. Despite having advantages in human and health capital, recent birth cohorts showed volunteering levels in late adulthood that are similar to those of their predecessors. Moreover, more recent birth cohorts were consistently less engaged in informal helping than earlier birth cohorts throughout the observation period. More research is needed to illuminate the sociocultural drivers of changes in helping behaviors and overall prosocial and civic engagement.

Perceptions of Childhood Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Cognitive Function in Middle and Late Adulthood.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Framed within the life course perspective and the neighborhood stress model, this study investigated the association between perceptions of childhood neighborhood social cohesion and cognitive function among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. We also examined whether gender, childhood hukou status, the Chinese national administrative household registration system, and birth cohort moderated the association. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study used 3 waves of nationally representative data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011-2015; N = 11,469). Cognitive function was measured with the Telephone Interview for Cognition Status instrument. Two-level multilevel modeling was employed to address the research questions. RESULTS: A higher overall level of childhood neighborhood social cohesion was associated with a higher baseline level of cognitive function (b = 0.26, p < .001) and a slower rate of cognitive decline (b = 0.10, p = .010). Birth cohort membership moderated the linkage between childhood neighborhood social cohesion and the level of cognitive function (b = 0.35, p < .001) and cognitive decline (b = 0.19, p = .014). Gender and childhood hukou status did not moderate these associations. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings underscored the long-term ramifications of childhood conditions for later-life cognitive function. Social cohesion at the neighborhood level during childhood may be a factor that promotes healthy cognitive aging.

Psychological and Physical Health in Widowhood: Does Marital Quality Make a Difference?

We investigate how preloss marital quality is associated with changes in psychological distress and physical health among older widow(er)s. Using prospective data with a 2-year follow-up from the Health and Retirement Study, we selected 546 respondents who transitioned into widowhood. Respondents were classified as supportive, ambivalent, aversive, or neutral groups. The supportive and ambivalent group experienced greater increase in depressive symptoms compared to the aversive group, in widowhood. The aversive group showed greater increase in chronic conditions compared to the supportive group. Findings indicated that spousal loss may result in more psychological distress for those with supportive and ambivalent marital relationship. Yet, those with mostly negative accounts of their marriage may experience worsened physical health, albeit no increase in psychological distress. Understanding different benefits and challenges facing older individuals after a positive or negative marriage may help direct support and interventions efforts toward older couples during marriage and in widowhood.

Internet Use and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life: Focus on Asymmetric Effects and Contextual Factors.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite emerging literature linking Internet usage and cognitive functioning in later life, research seldom takes changes in older adults' Internet use into account. How changes in Internet use influence older adults' cognitive decline over time, particularly in the context of sociodemographic factors that shape Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use, remains an open question. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using 9 waves of panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (2002-2018), we examined within-person asymmetric effects of transitioning into and out of Internet use on cognitive functioning, and whether the associations vary across birth cohorts and by living arrangement. RESULTS: Transitioning into Internet use (i.e., Internet use onset) was associated with improved cognitive functioning at a given wave and decelerated cognitive decline over time. Transitioning out of the Internet (i.e., Internet use cessation) was associated with worse cognitive functioning at a given wave and accelerated cognitive decline over time. Furthermore, birth cohort and living arrangement moderated these associations. The detrimental effect of transitioning out of Internet use was worse for older adults born in 1941 or before. The cognitive benefits of transitioning into Internet use were greater for those older adults who live alone. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings highlight the interplay between technology, social environment, and cognitive functioning in later life. The salubrious effects of using the Internet, as well as the deleterious effects of ceasing to use such technology, underscore the importance of promoting digital literacy and access to ICT among the older adult population.

Older Adult's Marital Status, Conversation Frequency, and Well-Being in Everyday Life.

OBJECTIVES: Marital status contributes to differences in social experiences and well-being in late life. Yet, we know little about the role of conversation in these processes. Drawing on a functionalist perspective and hierarchical compensatory model, this study aimed to understand (a) whether older adults' marital status is associated with conversation frequency throughout the day, (b) whether contacts with nonspousal ties elicit more conversations among unmarried older adults, and (c) whether conversations exert a stronger effect on mood for unmarried older adults than married older adults. METHOD: Adults aged 65+ (N = 272) provided information about their background characteristics and social partners. Across 5-6 days, they completed ecological momentary assessments reporting their social encounters and mood every 3 hr. Concurrently, electronically activated recorders captured 30 s of sound every 7 min. We compared older adults who were married, widowed, and divorced. RESULTS: Multilevel models revealed that married older adults engaged in more conversations than divorced older adults throughout the day. Contact with friends elicited more conversations for divorced older adults than married older adults. Furthermore, conversations enhanced mood throughout the day, but this effect was more salient for widowed than married older adults. DISCUSSION: Findings highlight the role of marital status in older adults' daily conversational experiences and compensatory processes that may occur. Widowed and divorced older adults differed from married older adults in distinct ways. Divorced older adults may compensate for lack of spouse with friends, whereas widowed older adults may benefit emotionally from engaging in conversations.

The Impact of Marital Quality as Older Couples Adjust to Dementia Onset.

OBJECTIVES: A burgeoning literature links being married to better cognitive health, but less attention has been paid to how couples view their marital relationships. Couples do not always concur in their assessments, and such discrepancies affect both partners' health. We present a dyadic study on whether and how overall and discrepant views of marital quality predicted (a) dementia onset and (b) changes in older adults' depressive symptoms with spousal dementia. METHODS: A pooled sample of couples aged 50+ (dyad N = 3,936) from the Health and Retirement Study rated positive and negative marital quality at baseline (2006/2008). Each participant reported whether they had been told of having dementia and their depressive symptoms once every other year (2006/2008-2014/2016). RESULTS: Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that older adults who rated their marriages either more positively or more negatively than their spouses were more likely to develop dementia. We applied multiphase growth curve modeling to older adults whose spouses developed dementia, finding that those in marriages that were more negative overall reported more depressive symptoms but exhibited a smaller increase in these symptoms in response to spousal dementia. DISCUSSION: This study adds to the literature by showing how discrepant marital assessments shape cognitive aging and offers new insights into identifying older adults with greater dementia risk. Findings also revealed the impact of overall negative marital quality on older adults' psychological adjustment to spousal dementia, which could inform interventions intended to help couples better cope with early-stage dementia from a relational perspective.

Adult children's achievements and ageing parents' depressive symptoms in China.

This study examined the association between adult children's achievements and ageing parents' depressive symptoms in China. The research topic was examined within the contexts of one-child and multiple-children families in rural and urban China. Older adults (aged 60-113, N = 8,450; nested within 462 communities/villages) from the 2013 China Longitudinal Ageing Social Survey provided information about themselves and their adult children (N = 22,738). Adult children's achievements were assessed with educational attainment, financial status and occupational status; older parents' depressive symptoms were assessed with nine items of the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Multilevel linear regression models were estimated separately for older parents with one child only and multiple children. For older parents with multiple children, both having one or more children with any achievement and the total number of children's achievements were associated with fewer depressive symptoms. For parents with only one child, any achievement of the child and the total number of the child's achievements were associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Our results also indicated that the association between children's achievements and parents' depressive symptoms varied by rural-urban residence and family type. Our findings contributed to the understanding of family dynamics underlying the emotional wellbeing of older adults in China.

Take a sad song and make it better: Spousal activity limitations, caregiving, and depressive symptoms among couples.

OBJECTIVES: Framed around key concepts of the life course perspective, we examined the linkages between spousal activity limitations, caregiving transitions, and depression among married couples. The key study objectives were 1) to demonstrate how the caregiving-depression link widely reported in earlier research may have been over-stated, and 2) to investigate whether caregiving yields mental health benefits by weakening the link between spousal activity limitations and depressive symptoms. METHODS: We used longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004-2016) to examine a national sample of coupled individuals (6,475 couples; 57,844 person-wave observations). A series of longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models were used to estimate within-person associations between spousal activity limitations, caregiving transitions, and depressive symptoms among coupled individuals. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated that spousal activity limitations function as a confounder for the association between caregiving transitions and depressive symptoms. Results further provided evidence that transitioning into a caregiving role in the context of spousal activity limitations alleviated symptoms of depression for the caregiver. CONCLUSION: The findings provide an explanation for the extended longevity benefit reaped by caregivers increasingly reported in recent population studies. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

Health consequences of retirement due to non-health reasons or poor health.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to contribute to our understanding of the complex linkage between retirement and health by estimating health consequences of retirement transitions that were not driven by health reasons separately from those caused by poor health, while taking into consideration the health differences that exist between individuals who engage in different labor force behaviors. METHODS: Ten waves of rich data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (N = 9,347; 52,658 person-wave observations) were used to estimate within-person associations between retirement transitions and subsequent health, assessed with self-rated health and depressive symptoms. To account for the bidirectional relationship between retirement and health, retiree's self-reports of the reasons for labor force withdrawal were used to identify and parse out retirement transitions driven by poor health from the retirement transitions that were unrelated to health reasons. RESULTS: Retirement transitions were unrelated to subsequent health if the withdrawal from the labor force was driven by non-health reasons, whereas retirement transitions driven by poor health were associated with worse subsequent health. Retirement transitions that were phased through partial retirement were associated with worse health outcomes compared to transitioning from full-time work to complete retirement. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings suggest that retirement policies designed to prolong working lives may be implemented without adversely influencing health of older individuals, and potentially delay negative health outcomes associated with retirement for some segments of the older population for whom labor force participation is considered more valuable.

Activity Limitations and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Couples: The Moderating Role of Spousal Care.

OBJECTIVES: Limitations in performing basic daily activities, as well as spousal caregiving that arises from activity limitations, are important factors that have ramifications for mental health among couples. The objective of this study was to investigate the interplay of these factors by focusing on whether the associations between activity limitations and depressive symptoms among coupled-individuals were moderated by receipt and provision of spousal care. METHODS: Longitudinal household data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004-2014; dyad N = 6,614) were analyzed to estimate within-person associations between one's own and spousal activity limitations, receipt and provision of spousal care, and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Findings showed a consistent link between one's own activity limitations and depressive symptoms for both spouses, whereas spousal activity limitations were associated with depressive symptoms for wives only. We also found moderating effects of spousal care in the link between one's own and spousal activity limitations and depressive symptoms. DISCUSSION: Receipt and provision of activities of daily living-related assistance may contextualize the association between activity limitations and depressive symptoms among older coupled-individuals in a direction that could alleviate or aggravate the risk of depression.

Functional Limitations, Volunteering, and Diurnal Cortisol Patterns in Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: Older adults often experience functional limitations that affect their everyday lives, but many of them continue to make positive contributions to society and benefit from these contributions themselves. We examine (a) whether older adults' functional limitations are associated with diurnal cortisol patterns and (b) whether these associations vary on volunteering days versus nonvolunteering days. METHODS: Participants were adults aged older than 60 years (N = 435) from the National Study of Daily Experiences, part of the Midlife in the United States Study. They completed an initial interview on functional limitations and background characteristics, indicated volunteering activities in daily interviews, and also provided salivary samples across 4 days. RESULTS: Multilevel models showed that older adults with greater functional limitations exhibited dysregulated cortisol awakening responses and diurnal cortisol slopes throughout the rest of the day, compared to older adults with lower limitations. Yet, we also observed a significant moderating effect of volunteering on these associations. DISCUSSION: This study advances our understanding of functional limitations and cortisol stress responses, revealing the benefits of volunteering to older adults who experience these limitations. Rather than treating these older adults solely as care recipients, interventions should offer them opportunities to help others.

Childhood Friendship Experiences and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life: The Mediating Roles of Adult Social Disconnectedness and Adult Loneliness.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the relationship between childhood friendships and cognitive functioning, as assessed with cognitive status and decline among adults aged 45 and older in China. We also examined the mediating effect of adult social disconnectedness and adult loneliness for this relationship. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study was based on 3 waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS; 2011, 2013, 2015; N = 13,959). Cognitive functioning was assessed with episodic memory. Childhood friendship measures were taken from the 2014 life history module of the CHARLS. Two dimensions of adult social isolation, loneliness and social disconnectedness, were included as mediators. Latent growth curve modeling was utilized to test the associations between childhood friendships, adult social isolation, and cognitive functioning. RESULTS: Adverse childhood friendship experiences were found to be significantly associated with both lower initial cognitive status and the rate of decline in cognitive functioning. Our findings indicated that adult loneliness and social disconnectedness partly mediated the link between childhood friendship experiences and the initial level of cognitive functioning, but not cognitive decline later in life. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The findings emphasized the enduring importance of childhood friendships for cognitive functioning later in life. Interventions that focus on improving social participation through fostering friendships in childhood may have long-term benefits for cognition later in life.

Volunteering, polygenic risk for Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive functioning among older adults.

OBJECTIVE: In the context of the public health burden posed by increases in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) prevalence around the globe and the related research efforts to identify modifiable risk factors for the disease, we sought to provide an empirical test of earlier claims that volunteering may be considered as a health intervention that could help to prevent or delay the onset of AD. METHOD: Using nine waves of panel data from the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (n=9,697), we examined whether volunteering conferred cognitive health benefits in later life and whether volunteering served a gene-regulatory function to help alleviate cognitive decline associated with polygenic risk for AD. Multilevel models were used to estimate associations between volunteering, polygenic risk for AD, and cognitive functioning over time. RESULTS: We found robust within-person associations between volunteering (assessed as volunteer status and time commitment) and cognitive functioning over time, such that volunteering was associated with higher levels of cognitive functioning and slower cognitive decline. The findings also provided evidence that the within-person associations for volunteering and cognitive decline were more pronounced for older adults at higher genetic risk for developing AD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are in line with a growing body of theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence suggesting that prosocial behaviors are directly associated with biological systems and may modify gene regulation to confer health benefits. The analytic approach taken in this study also provided a useful framework for investigating the effectiveness of other modifiable risk factors that vary over time in the context of cognitive decline related to genetic risk for AD.