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This study investigated whether and to what extent widowhood status is related to engagement in advance care planning (ACP), and further whether race/ethnicity moderated the relation. We analyzed a total of 11,257 older Americans from the Health and Retirement Study using random-effect regression models after controlling for covariates and year-fixed effects. We found that both being a widow/widower ever and having been widowed for a longer period of time were associated with a higher probability of engagement in ACP. Specifically, we found that a one-year increase in the number of years since spousal death was associated with 1.02 (p < 0.05, 95% CI = 1.00, 1.03) changes in the odds ratios of informal ACP; however, inclusion of a quadratic term indicated that this association reversed after the peak. Moreover, our findings suggested a moderating effect of race/ethnicity on the relations of the length of time since spousal loss with engagement in ACP. Specifically, the odds of widowed non-Hispanic Blacks discussing with someone the care or medical treatment (informal ACP) and having a living will (formal ACP) were 0.96 (p < 0.05, 95% CI = 0.93, 1.00) and 0.88 (p < 0.05, 95% CI = 0.79, 0.97) times that of non-widowed non-Hispanic Whites. Compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts, widowed non-Hispanic Blacks were less likely to engage in ACP, and the negative relations were exacerbated when they became widows/widowers. We elaborated on these findings and discussed their implications for understanding the moderating effect of race/ethnicity on the relation between late‐life widowhood and engagement in ACP. In order to develop programs that enhance engagement in ACP and reduce racial/ethnic disparities, research must incorporate intersectionality theory with attention to motivations and decision-making style among diverse widows/widowers. The findings from this study could help inform policy makers when developing public health programs and health care reimbursement programs that enhance engagement in ACP among widows/widowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate how the genetic risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease (AD) relates to saving behavior. Using nationally representative data from the 1996–2014 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we find that genetic predisposition for AD correlates with, but is not causally related to how older individuals' hold wealth in different asset types. People with a higher AD polygenic risk score (PGS) hold roughly 20 per cent less wealth in IRAs and contribute about 24 percent less to IRAs between survey periods. We hypothesize that people with a high risk of AD choose different portfolios: (i) because they know their genetic risk of developing AD from parental history, (ii) because they have the lower cognitive capacity, and (iii) because they indirectly learn about their genetic predisposition for AD as they age. Our extended model results show that the first two hypotheses do not account for the observed correlation. Consistent with the third hypothesis, the interaction between age and the AD PGS accounts for the correlation between genetic traits and asset holdings. Our findings have far-reaching implications for researchers using genetic data: when indirect learning about own predispositions is possible, correlations between genes and choices must be interpreted with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors related to gambling behavior among college students in the USA are examined by applying the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and incorporating the concepts of impulsivity and cognitive bias. This study uses a broader approach to analyze gambling behavior by including financial behavior variables using ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regressions. The survey data were collected through a self-administered online questionnaire of college students from 19 colleges and universities in the fall of 2010. With a sample of 5024 college students, a majority of the respondents (84.45%) in this study report that they did not gamble in the last 30 days. The results of multivariate analysis indicate that gambling is related to attitudes toward gambling, cognitive bias toward gambling, subjective norms of family members regarding financial behavior, and impulsivity. Underestimation of financial behavior (cognitive bias toward financial behavior) was found to be associated with only gambling frequency but not gambling propensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]