IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v183y2017icp80-87.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Longitudinal associations of experiences of adversity and socioeconomic disadvantage during childhood with labour force participation and exit in later adulthood

Author

Listed:
  • Fahy, A.E.
  • Stansfeld, S.A.
  • Smuk, M.
  • Lain, D.
  • van der Horst, M.
  • Vickerstaff, S.
  • Clark, C.

Abstract

The Extending Working Lives (EWL) agenda seeks to sustain employment up to and beyond traditional retirement ages. This study examined the potential role of childhood factors in shaping labour force participation and exit among older adults, with a view to informing proactive interventions early in the life-course to enhance individuals’ future capacity for extending their working lives. Childhood adversity and socioeconomic disadvantage have previously been linked to ill-health across the life-span and sickness benefit in early adulthood. This study builds upon previous research by examining associations between childhood adversity and self-reported labour force participation among older adults (aged 55). Data was from the National Child Development Study – a prospective cohort of all English, Scottish, & Welsh births in one week in 1958. There was evidence for associations between childhood adversity and increased risk of permanent sickness at 55 years – which were largely sustained after adjustment for educational disengagement and adulthood factors (mental/physical health, qualifications, socioeconomic disadvantage). Specifically, children who were abused or neglected were more likely to be permanently sick at 55 years. In addition, among males, those in care, those experiencing illness in the home, and those experiencing two or more childhood adversities were more likely to be permanently sick at 55 years. Childhood factors were also associated with part-time employment and retirement at 55 years. Severe childhood adversities may represent important distal predictors of labour force exit at 55 years, particularly via permanent sickness. Notably, some adversities show associations among males only, which may inform interventions designed to extend working lives.

Suggested Citation

  • Fahy, A.E. & Stansfeld, S.A. & Smuk, M. & Lain, D. & van der Horst, M. & Vickerstaff, S. & Clark, C., 2017. "Longitudinal associations of experiences of adversity and socioeconomic disadvantage during childhood with labour force participation and exit in later adulthood," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 80-87.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:183:y:2017:i:c:p:80-87
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.04.023
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617302460
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.04.023?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bowen, M.E. & González, H.M., 2010. "Childhood socioeconomic position and disability in later life: Results of the health and retirement study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(S1), pages 197-203.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gabriella Conti & Elena Pizzo & Stephen Morris & Mariya Melnychuk, 2021. "The economic costs of child maltreatment in UK," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(12), pages 3087-3105, December.
    2. Aino Salonsalmi & Olli Pietiläinen & Eero Lahelma & Ossi Rahkonen, 2019. "Childhood adversities, parental education and disability retirement among Finnish municipal employees," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, July.
    3. Kimberly-Ann Gittens-Baynes, 2022. "Understanding individual health decision-making in small developing countries a theoretical model," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Herbert, Laura & Comeau, Jinette & Smith, Carrie & Smith-Carrier, Tracy & Saxby, Christopher & Botelho, Natashia, 2023. "Child maltreatment and adult economic outcomes: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    5. Lorenti, Angelo & Dudel, Christian & Hale, Jo Mhairi & Myrskylä, Mikko, 2020. "Working and disability expectancies at older ages: the role of childhood circumstances and education," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 106194, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jennifer Montez & Mark Hayward, 2014. "Cumulative Childhood Adversity, Educational Attainment, and Active Life Expectancy Among U.S. Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 413-435, April.
    2. Helgertz, Jonas & Vågerö, Denny, 2014. "Small for gestational age and adulthood risk of disability pension: The contribution of childhood and adulthood conditions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 249-257.
    3. Schaan, Barbara, 2014. "The interaction of family background and personal education on depressive symptoms in later life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 94-102.
    4. Shervin Assari, 2018. "Diminished Economic Return of Socioeconomic Status for Black Families," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-10, May.
    5. John Robert Warren, 2016. "Does Growing Childhood Socioeconomic Inequality Mean Future Inequality in Adult Health?," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 663(1), pages 292-330, January.
    6. Elizabeth M. Lawrence & Richard G. Rogers & Anna Zajacova, 2016. "Educational Attainment and Mortality in the United States: Effects of Degrees, Years of Schooling, and Certification," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 35(4), pages 501-525, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:183:y:2017:i:c:p:80-87. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.