IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v291y2021ics0277953621008108.html

Associations between childhood adversities and late-life cognitive function: Potential mechanisms

Author

Listed:
  • Ding, Ruoxi
  • He, Ping

Abstract

Childhood adversity, which is related to negative cognitive consequences, is highly prevalent across the world. Nonetheless, there is still a scarcity of research on late-life cognitive function that accounted for multiple aspects of adverse events as well as the potential mediating mechanism of social context and individual's wellbeing in adulthood.

Suggested Citation

  • Ding, Ruoxi & He, Ping, 2021. "Associations between childhood adversities and late-life cognitive function: Potential mechanisms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:291:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621008108
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114478
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621008108
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114478?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Boukje Maria van Gelder & Marja Tijhuis & Sandra Kalmijn & Simona Giampaoli & Aulikki Nissinen & Daan Kromhout, 2006. "Marital Status and Living Situation During a 5-Year Period Are Associated With a Subsequent 10-Year Cognitive Decline in Older Men: The FINE Study," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 61(4), pages 213-219.
    2. Metzler, Marilyn & Merrick, Melissa T. & Klevens, Joanne & Ports, Katie A. & Ford, Derek C., 2017. "Adverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: Shifting the narrative," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 141-149.
    3. Kathleen A. Cagney & Diane S. Lauderdale, 2002. "Education, Wealth, and Cognitive Function in Later Life," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 57(2), pages 163-172.
    4. Cui, Hanxiao & Smith, James P. & Zhao, Yaohui, 2020. "Early-life deprivation and health outcomes in adulthood: Evidence from childhood hunger episodes of middle-aged and elderly Chinese," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. Dale Dannefer, 2003. "Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage and the Life Course: Cross-Fertilizing Age and Social Science Theory," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(6), pages 327-337.
    6. Cheng Li, 2013. "Little's test of missing completely at random," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 13(4), pages 795-809, December.
    7. Rong Fu, 2019. "Early Parental Death and Cognitive Impairment in Late Life: A Cohort Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(3), pages 21582440198, September.
    8. Turner, R. Jay & Thomas, Courtney S. & Brown, Tyson H., 2016. "Childhood adversity and adult health: Evaluating intervening mechanisms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 114-124.
    9. Muntaner, C. & Eaton, W. W. & Diala, C. & Kessler, R. C. & Sorlie, P. D., 1998. "Social class, assets, organizational control and the prevalence of common groups of psychiatric disorders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 47(12), pages 2043-2053, December.
    10. Lei, Xiaoyan & Sun, Xiaoting & Strauss, John & Zhang, Peng & Zhao, Yaohui, 2014. "Depressive symptoms and SES among the mid-aged and elderly in China: Evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study national baseline," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 224-232.
    11. Stefan Fors & Carin Lennartsson & Olle Lundberg, 2009. "Childhood Living Conditions, Socioeconomic Position in Adulthood, and Cognition in Later Life: Exploring the Associations," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 64(6), pages 750-757.
    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. Cai, Shu & Li, Wei, 2024. "On the origin of cognition: How childhood conditions shape cognitive function in old age," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    2. Pengpei Liu & Xuelei Yang & Xingrong Liu, 2025. "Assessing the mental health implications of carbon trading policies: evidence from urban China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Noghanibehambari, Hamid & Fletcher, Jason, 2023. "Long-Term Health Benefits of Occupational Licensing: Evidence from Midwifery Laws," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    4. Blujus, Jenna K. & Papandonatos, George D. & Buka, Stephen L. & Rogers, Michelle L. & Donatelli, Jo-Ann L. & Festa, Elena K. & Heindel, William C., 2025. "The impact of early childhood adversity on adult cognitive performance: The mediating roles of childhood cognitive ability and educational attainment," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 383(C).
    5. Zong, Xu, 2025. "The long arm of childhood: The association between early-life indoor air pollution exposure and cognitive performance in later life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 387(C).
    6. Mokhtari, MohammadAli, 2023. "Opioids ease my pain: Early-life malnutrition and elderly outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).

    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. Li, Haoyang & Chen, Yifeng & Ma, Mingming, 2024. "Temperature and life satisfaction: Evidence from Chinese older adults," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    2. Jang, Hayun & Kim, Jinho, 2025. "Adverse childhood experiences and adult employment outcomes: Unpacking mechanisms across the life course," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 384(C).
    3. Richards, Lindsay & Maharani, Asri & Präg, Patrick, 2026. "Cognitive ageing: sex and life course social class differences in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 388(C).
    4. Zhengyi Yang, 2025. "Multidimensional capital: exploring the impact of left-behind experience on adult happiness," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Ko, Soohyeon & Oh, Hannah & Subramanian, S.V. & Kim, Rockli, 2025. "Life course social mobility and cognitive function among middle-aged and older adults in India: Exploring heterogeneity by gender," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 366(C).
    6. Ingyu Moon & Junghee Han, 2022. "Moderating Effects of Physical Activity on the Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health-Related Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Ko, Pei-Chun & Yeung, Wei-Jun Jean, 2019. "Childhood conditions and productive aging in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 60-69.
    8. 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.
    9. de Almeida, Filipa & Scott, Ian J. & Soro, Jerônimo C. & Fernandes, Daniel & Amaral, André R. & Catarino, Mafalda L. & Arêde, André & Ferreira, Mário B., 2024. "Financial scarcity and cognitive performance: A meta-analysis," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    10. Darin-Mattsson, Alexander & Andel, Ross & Celeste, Roger Keller & Kåreholt, Ingemar, 2018. "Linking financial hardship throughout the life-course with psychological distress in old age: Sensitive period, accumulation of risks, and chain of risks hypotheses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 111-119.
    11. Shi, Songyun & Chen, Yu-Chih & Yip, Paul S.F., 2023. "Relative deprivation patterns in social and geographical references for health trajectories in China: Investigations of gender and urban-rural disparities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    12. Lei Yang & Zhenbo Wang, 2020. "Early-Life Conditions and Cognitive Function in Middle-and Old-Aged Chinese Adults: A Longitudinal Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-13, May.
    13. Lee, Min-Ah, 2011. "Disparity in disability between native-born non-Hispanic white and foreign-born Asian older adults in the United States: Effects of educational attainment and age at immigration," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(8), pages 1249-1257, April.
    14. Adam Hege & Erin Bouldin & Manan Roy & Maggie Bennett & Peyton Attaway & Kellie Reed-Ashcraft, 2020. "Adverse Childhood Experiences among Adults in North Carolina, USA: Influences on Risk Factors for Poor Health across the Lifespan and Intergenerational Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-14, November.
    15. Hannes Kröger & Rasmus Hoffmann & Lasse Tarkiainen & Pekka Martikainen, 2018. "Comparing Observed and Unobserved Components of Childhood: Evidence From Finnish Register Data on Midlife Mortality From Siblings and Their Parents," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 295-318, February.
    16. Barr, Ashley B. & Dennison, Christopher R. & Lee, Kristen Schultz & Zhang, Zhe, 2025. "Adult children's education, parental cognitive health, and the role of selection," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 384(C).
    17. Claire Devine & Hannah Cohen-Cline, 2022. "Social and Behavioral Pathways between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Poor Adult Physical Health: Mediation by Early Adulthood Experiences in a Low-Income Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-12, August.
    18. Zheng, Xiaodong & Shangguan, Shuangyue & Fang, Zuyi & Fang, Xiangming, 2021. "Early-life exposure to parental mental distress and adulthood depression among middle-aged and elderly Chinese," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    19. Riekhoff, Aart-Jan & Vaalavuo, Maria, 2021. "Health shocks and couples’ labor market participation: A turning point or stuck in the trajectory?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    20. Sun, Nan & Yang, Fan, 2021. "Impacts of internal migration experience on health among middle-aged and older adults—Evidence from China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:291:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621008108. 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.