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Purpose: Continued employment after retirement and engagement in unpaid work are both important ways of diminishing the negative economic effects of the retirement of baby boomer cohorts on society. Little research, however, examines the relationship between paid and unpaid work at the transition from full-time work. Using a resource perspective framework this study examines how engagement in unpaid work prior to and at the transition from full-time work influences whether individuals partially or fully retire. Design and Methods: This study used a sample of 2,236 Americans between the ages 50 and 68, who were interviewed between 1998 and 2008. Logistic regression was used to estimate transitioning into partial retirement (relative to full retirement) after leaving full-time work. Results: We found that the odds of transitioning into part-time work were increased by continuous volunteering (78%) and reduced by starting parental (84%), grandchild (41%), and spousal (90%) caregiving and unaffected by all other patterns of engagement in unpaid work. Implications: Our findings suggest that volunteering is complementary with a transition to part-time work, and starting a new caregiving role at this transition creates a barrier to continued employment. In order to provide workers the opportunity to engage in the work force longer at the brink of retirement, it may be necessary to increase the support mechanisms for those who experience new caregiving responsibilities. (Contains 2 tables.)

Objectives: This study evaluated whether (a) retirement was associated with increased depressive symptoms, (b) four sources social support were associated with decreased depressive symptoms, and (c) whether the relationship between retirement and depressive symptoms varied across four sources social support. Method: Health and Retirement Study data were used to assess whether four measures of structural support moderated the association between transitioning to full retirement (relative to remaining in full-time work) and symptoms of depression. Results: Results from two-stage mixed-effects multilevel models indicated (a) on average retirement was associated with a small but significant increase in depressive symptoms after adjusting for preretirement social support, (b) on average, social support not associated with changes in symptoms of depression, but (c) social support from friends moderates the association between retirement and symptoms of depression such that at low levels of social support, retirement was associated with a sizeable increase in depressive symptoms, but this association decreased as level of social support from friends increased. Discussion: Results suggest people with low levels of social support may benefit from actively cultivating friendships in retirement to help mitigate some of deleterious effects of retirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Recent research suggests that working longer may be protective of cognitive functioning in later life, especially for workers in low complexity jobs. As postretirement work becomes increasingly popular, it is important to understand how various retirement pathways influence cognitive function. The present study examines cognitive changes as a function of job complexity in the context of different types of retirement transitions. Research Design and Methods We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine change in cognitive function for workers who have held low, moderate, and high complexity jobs and move through distinct retirement pathways—retiring and returning to work, partial retirement—compared with those who fully retire or remain full-time workers. Inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (a propensity score method) is used to adjust for selection effects. Results There are systematic variations in the relationships between work and cognitive performance as a function of job complexity and retirement pathways. All retirement pathways were associated with accelerated cognitive decline for workers in low complexity jobs. In contrast, for high complexity workers retirement was not associated with accelerated cognitive decline and retiring and returning to work was associated with modest improvement in cognitive functioning. Discussion and Implications Both policy makers and individuals are beginning to embrace longer working lives which offer variety of potential benefits. Our findings suggest that continued full-time work also may be protective for cognitive health in workers who hold low complexity jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study evaluated (a) whether the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations vary by race/ethnicity, and (b) whether socioeconomic status accounted for any observed racial variation in the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations. Method The Health and Retirement Study data were used to assess whether race/ethnicity moderated the association between chronic conditions and functional limitations, and whether education, income, and/or wealth mediated any of the observed moderation by race/ethnicity. Results Results from structural equation models of latent growth curves with random onset indicated that (a) the positive association between chronic conditions and functional limitations onset was larger for African Americans and Hispanics than it was for Whites, but (b) this difference largely persisted net of socioeconomic status. Discussion African Americans and Hispanics endure a multiplicative double disadvantage in the early stages of the disablement process where they experience (a) a more rapid onset and higher levels of functional limitations, and (b) greater risk of functional limitation onset associated with chronic conditions compared to their White counterparts. Moreover, basic economic policies are unlikely to curtail the greater risk of functional limitations onset associated with chronic conditions encountered by African Americans and Hispanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives In this study, we (a) draw on fundamental cause theory, the life course perspective, and neighborhood effects to develop conceptual matrix of socioeconomic status (SES) by temporal and spatial dimensions in order to highlight the multidimensional ways in which SES relates to general health, and then (b) assess the multidimensional ways in which income (as a measure of SES) is related to disability in adulthood. Methods Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics were linked with Census data to assess (a) which temporal and spatial dimensions of income were associated with disability in adulthood, and (b) whether the various components of income interact with each other when predicting disability. Results Negative binomial regression results indicated both 1970 and 2013 household income were associated with lower levels of disabilities in adulthood, as was 2013 neighborhood-level income, but 1970 neighborhood-level income was not associated with disability in adulthood. Further, 4 of the 6 possible interactions between the multiple dimensions of income were associated with significant reductions in adult disability. Discussion These findings provide several important empirical insights, but also help inform a framework for thinking about the multidimensional ways in which SES relates to health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Drawing on life-course perspective and cumulative advantage theory, we examined whether service related exposures (SREs)—combat and exposure to death—have lasting impacts on depressive symptom and psychiatric problem trajectories of aging veterans. Methods The Health and Retirement Study and linked 2013 Veterans Mail Survey were used to examine SREs and mental health among older veterans between 2002 and 2012 (N = 1,662). Latent growth curves were used to measure how individuals vary from average mental health trajectories based on SREs and other important covariates. Results Exposure to death had a significant and lasting effect on depressive symptoms for veterans in late life but was reduced to nonsignificance when physical health trajectories were included. Combat and exposure to death had independent and robust impacts on psychiatric problems, which were robust in final models. Discussion SREs presented varied and significant impacts, suggesting that combat does not work alone in driving poor mental health trajectories, and that exposure to death is a more robust risk marker for later outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe the association between initiating volunteering and changes in physical disability in older adults, and whether intensity and gender modify this relationship. Methods: Employing propensity score weighted regression adjustment, we calculate changes in disability using a sample of U.S. adults (n = 7,135) in the Health and Retirement Study (1996-2012) not volunteering at baseline but later initiating volunteering (1-99 hr/year or 100+ hours per year) or remaining a nonvolunteer. Results: Relative to continuous nonvolunteers, low-intensity volunteering is related to 34% lower disability in the low- intensity group (average treatment effect [ATE] = -0.12) and 63% lower in the higher-intensity group (ATE = -0.23). For men, progression was lower only in the highest intensity group (ATE = +0.02), but women experienced similarly less progression of disability (38%-39%) at either level of new engagement (ATE = -0.17 and -0.18). Discussion: Initiating a new volunteer role in later life is related to decreased progression of disability, at low or high levels for women and only at higher levels for men. This study suggests that volunteer intervention programs may represent a major public health strategy to delay the progression of physical disability for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Loneliness is a significant public health concern, particularly for those who have lost a spouse through widowhood. This study examines whether becoming a volunteer at the time of widowhood is associated with reduction of these risks. Method: A pooled sample of 5,882 married adults age 51+, drawn from the 2006-2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, was used to estimate regression models of the relationship between becoming widowed (relative to staying continuously married) and loneliness, and whether the associated loneliness of having lost a spouse is moderated by starting to volunteer (<2 hr, 2+ hr/week). Results: Our results show that for those who become widowed, loneliness is significantly higher than those who stay continuously married. However, starting to volunteer 2+ hr per week is related to attenuated loneliness among the widowed such that widows who volunteer at that intensity have levels of loneliness similar to those of continuously married individuals volunteering at the same intensity. Discussion: This study suggests higher intensity volunteering may be a particularly important pathway for alleviating loneliness among older adults who have recently become widowed. Results are discussed in light of theory, future research, and potential interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study employs the stress process model (SPM) to identify risk/protective factors for mental health among adult African American men. Method: Using a community-based sample of Miami, FL residents linked to neighborhood Census data, this study identifies risk/protective factors for depressive symptomatology using a sample of 248 adult African American men. Results: The stress process variables independently associated with depressive symptoms were family support, mastery, self-esteem, chronic stressors, and daily discrimination. While mastery and self-esteem mediated the relationship between neighborhood income and depressive symptoms, perceived family support served as a buffer for stress exposure. Collectively, the SPM explains nearly half of the variability in depressive symptoms among African American men. Discussion: The SPM is a useful conceptual framework for identifying psychosocial risk/protective factors and directing health initiatives and policies aimed at improving the psychological health of African American men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test current marital status as a moderator on the influence of depressive symptoms and chronic conditions on subsequent functional limitations. Method: Data come from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; 1998-2010). Hierarchal linear modeling models tested differences in functional limitations among a sample of 20,215 people. Results: At baseline, married people suffered from fewer subsequent functional limitations than the unmarried. Moreover, limited evidence suggests the influence of depressive symptoms was greater for the married than the unmarried; however, the influence of chronic conditions was consistently attenuated for married people. Accounting for differences in prior health, work, socioeconomic status, and health behaviors did not explain the moderating influence of marital status on the associations between symptoms of depression and chronic conditions with functional limitations. Discussion: This research highlights the need to identify potential modifiers that may help disrupt the process of disablement among both the married and the unmarried alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]