Life Course Research Articles

Thematic engagements: Affects and learning in older age

In this paper, we propose a sociocultural perspective to consider affects in older age. The psychology of learning throughout the whole life course, including in the life of older adults, suggest that affects play an important role. However, developmental psychology has paid little attention to affects in learning and development, and even less to these aspects in older age. We believe that it is important to examine affects in older age because of their centrality in the lifecourse; but how to account for them? We propose the notion of thematic engagement to highlight the role of affects in older persons' learning and development, and to designate transversal and pluri-thematic interests across activities and domains of knowledge, which enable us to show that some topics, domains or interests become more important than others for a given person across time. We base our claims on a longitudinal study of older people engaging in different activities at home, in their neighbourhood, as well as in a daycare centre for older people, and provide three dialogical exemplars. We finally highlight some theoretical and empirical implications of our proposition.

Mother of all bonds: Influences on spatial association across the lifespan in capuchins.

In humans, being more socially integrated is associated with better physical and mental health and/or with lower mortality. This link between sociality and health may have ancient roots: sociality also predicts survival or reproduction in other mammals, such as rats, dolphins, and non-human primates. A key question, therefore, is which factors influence the degree of sociality over the life course. Longitudinal data can provide valuable insight into how environmental variability drives individual differences in sociality and associated outcomes. The first year of life-when long-lived mammals are the most reliant on others for nourishment and protection-is likely to play an important role in how individuals learn to integrate into groups. Using behavioral, demographic, and pedigree information on 376 wild capuchin monkeys (Cebus imitator) across 20 years, we address how changes in group composition influence spatial association. We further try to determine the extent to which early maternal social environments have downstream effects on sociality across the juvenile and (sub)adult stages. We find a positive effect of early maternal spatial association, where female infants whose mothers spent more time around others also later spent more time around others as juveniles and subadults. Our results also highlight the importance of kin availability and other aspects of group composition (e.g., group size) in dynamically influencing spatial association across developmental stages. We bring attention to the importance of-and difficulty in-determining the social versus genetic influences that parents have on offspring phenotypes. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Having more maternal kin (mother and siblings) is associated with spending more time near others across developmental stages in both male and female capuchins. Having more offspring as a subadult or adult female is additionally associated with spending more time near others. A mother's average sociality (time near others) is predictive of how social her daughters (but not sons) become as juveniles and subadults (a between-mother effect). Additional variation within sibling sets in this same maternal phenotype is not predictive of how social they become later relative to each other (no within-mother effect).

The Role of Nursing in Pediatric Lifestyle Medicine

Lifestyle medicine is a critically important part of optimizing holistic health across the life course of individuals. For children and adolescents, lifestyle medicine with the focus on developing healthy lifestyle behaviors, is initiated early in life and emphasizes multidisciplinary, multisectoral efforts. Central to these efforts is primordial prevention, with an emphasis on developing and maintaining healthy patterns of lifestyle behaviors. Viewed within a socio-ecological model of health and behavior, contexts including families, schools, and communities interact to influence and impact the health of children and adolescents. Nurses and nursing organizations and societies promote pediatric lifestyle medicine with the aim of promoting optimal health and development for all children.

Fraud victimization across the lifespan: evidence on repeat victimization using perpetrator data

ABSTRACT Older adults are thought to be more susceptible to scams, yet understanding the relationship between chronological age and victimization is limited by underreporting. This study avoids underreporting bias by merging four longitudinal databases of Americans (N = 1.33 million) who paid money in response to mail scams over 20 years. We investigate the risk of repeat victimization and victimization by multiple scam types over the life course. Victims in their 70s and 80s are 9% more likely to experience another victimization incident than those in their 50s. Those age 18 to 29 are 24% less likely to experience another victimization incident. Relative to adults in their 50s, the odds of victimization by multiple scams are greater for those in their 60s and 70s, but lower for those 80 + . This study demonstrates the research potential in using scammers’ data to understand patterns of victimization. Fraud prevention efforts should target older individuals who are at higher risk of repeat victimization and suffer greater losses as a result.

Risk and sex-specific trends of dementia and stroke in Italy Compared to European and high-income countries and the world: global implications.

Understanding the increasing trends in Italy may inform new prevention strategies and better treatments. We investigated trends and risk factors of dementia, stroke, and ischemic heart disease (IHD) in Italy with the second-oldest population globally, compared to European and high-income countries and the world. We analyzed the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019 estimates on incidence and burden (i.e., disability and death combined) of the three conditions in both sexes. We also analyzed the burden attributable to 12 modifiable risk factors and their changes during 1990-2019. In 2019, Italy had 186,108 new dementias (123,885 women) and 94,074 new strokes (53,572 women). Women had 98% higher crude dementia and 24% higher crude stroke burdens than men. The average age-standardized new dementia rate was 114.7 per 100,000 women and 88.4 per 100,000 men, both higher than Western Europe, the European Union, high-income countries, and the world. During 1990-2019, this rate increased in both sexes (4%), despite a decline in stroke (- 45%) and IHD (- 17%) in Italy. Dementia burden attributable to tobacco decreased in both sexes (- 12.7%) during 1990-2019, while high blood glucose and high body mass index combined burden increased (25.4%). Stroke and IHD had similar trends. While decreases in new strokes and IHDs are encouraging, new approaches to their joint prevention are required to reverse the rising dementia trends, especially among women. Life course approaches to promoting holistic brain health should be implemented at the community, national, and international levels before the growing trends become overwhelming.

Longitudinal Relationships Between Financial Stress, Career Related Optimism, and Psychological Distress During Emerging Adulthood in Australia

The current study examined financial stress, career-related optimism, and psychological distress from the age of 19 (2013; n = 5,787), until the age of 25 (2019; n = 2,933) using the Longitudinal Surveys of Australia Youth (2009 cohort). Longitudinal mediation using latent growth curve modeling observed trajectories of change across young adulthood, whereby financial stress and career-related optimism decreased, while psychological distress increased across time. The inclusion of regression parameters in the analyses indicated that participants with shallower reductions in financial stress reported steeper increases in distress, and this effect was mediated by shifting career-related optimism. With ongoing financial pressures around the world disproportionately impacting young people, our work further illustrates how these stressors can shape the life course via shifts in vocational optimism and subsequent mental health. Moving forward, policies and timely clinical interventions should be implemented to assist young adults in navigating this pivotal developmental period.

Is lifetime abuse forgivable in old age?

ABSTRACT Old age is characterized by reflection and a retrospective examination of the multiple meanings of various life experiences, including lifelong abuse. Forgiveness is found to have a salutary effect, especially for older adults. To understand the place and role of forgiveness in the reflective process during aging, we performed a secondary analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews (N = 78) with older women survivors of abuse. Inductive thematic analysis was based on concepts developed deductively from the literature review. The findings include three main themes: (1) The dimensions of forgiving: The victim as subject; (2) Being forgiven: Between lost forgiveness and hope; and (3) Self-forgiveness and the aging self. Despite the known salutary effect of forgiveness, we must consider that this is not a universally desirable process. We included the dimension of forgiveness in the study of abuse throughout the older person’s life course and identified further complexities in addition to the “forgiveness”/“unforgiveness.”

The long‐term consequences of early school absences for educational attainment and labour market outcomes

AbstractSchool absences can negatively impact a child's schooling, including the loss of teacher‐led lessons, peer interactions, and, ultimately, academic achievement. However, little is known about the long‐term consequences of school absences for overall educational attainment and labour market outcomes. In this paper, we used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study to examine long‐term associations between school absences in late childhood and individuals’ educational attainment, social class, unemployment and earnings at age 42 while adjusting for a comprehensive set of confounders. Our findings show that school absences are associated with lower educational attainment but are not associated with social class destination except for increasing the likelihood of being out of the labour force after adjusting for confounders. Individuals who missed five days of school at age 10 were 5.2% more likely to have obtained no qualifications and 4.1% more likely to be out of the labour force. However, we did not find a significant association between school absences and individuals’ earnings or duration of unemployment. Our findings suggest that the detrimental consequences of school absences persist beyond schooling into adulthood. Overall, this study highlights the importance of addressing school absenteeism to promote educational and labour market participation over the life course.

The Association of Childhood Parental Connection With Adult Flourishing and Depressive Symptoms.

To determine whether a common measure of childhood emotional neglect, scored instead as a continuous measure of increasing parental connection, is associated with adult flourishing and depressive symptoms, and to compare the magnitude of these 2 associations. We pooled cross-sectional survey data from the Midlife in the United States study, collected from 2 national cohorts (2004-2006 and 2011-2014) of English-speaking, US adults, aged 25 to 74 years. Using the 5-item emotional neglect subscale of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, a score of increasing childhood parental connection was created by not reverse-scoring responses. The adult outcomes were standardized scores of flourishing, from Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale, and depressive symptoms, from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Data were available for 2079 of 2118 participants (98.2%). The mean (SD) age was 53.1 (12.6) years and 54.6% were female. After adjusting for covariates (age, gender, race and ethnicity, marital status, chronic disease, socioeconomic disadvantage), the adult flourishing score was 0.74 (95% confidence interval 0.63-0.86) SD units higher in those in the highest quartile of childhood parental connection compared with the lowest, whereas the depressive symptoms score was lower by a similar magnitude (-0.65 [95% confidence interval -0.77 to -0.54] SD units). When emotional neglect is reframed as parental connection, it has associations with adult flourishing and depressive symptoms that are of similar magnitude but opposite direction. Clinicians and researchers should consider the more positive and aspirational frame of parental connection and its potential contribution to life course flourishing.

A holistic approach to fragile X syndrome integrated guidance for person-centred care.

The Fragile X community has expressed a desire for centralised, national guidelines in the form of integrated guidance for Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). This article draws on existing literature reviews, primary research and clinical trials on FXS, a Fragile X Society conference workshop and first-hand experience of clinicians who have worked with those living with FXS over many years. The article scopes proposed integrated guidance over the life course, including appendices of symptoms, comorbidities and referral options for FXS and Fragile X Premutation Associated Conditions. Integrated guidance would provide an authoritative source for doctors, health professionals, therapists, care workers, social workers, educators, employers, families and those living with FXS, so that a holistic, person-centred approach can be taken across the United Kingdom to garner the best outcomes for those with FXS.

The ILC Maine statement: Time for the fundamental care [r]evolution.

The aim of this study was to present the third position statement from the International Learning Collaborative (ILC). The ILC is the foremost global organization dedicated to transforming fundamental care. Internationally, fundamental care is reported to be poorly delivered, delayed or missed, negatively impacting patients, their families/carers and healthcare staff and systems. Overcoming this global challenge requires profound transformation in how our healthcare systems value, deliver and evaluate fundamental care. This transformation will take both evolutionary and revolutionary guises. In this position statement, we argue how this [r]evolutionary transformation for fundamental care can and must be created within clinical practice. Position paper. This position statement stems from the ILC's annual conference and Leadership Program held in Portland, Maine, USA, in June 2023. The statement draws on the discussions between participants and the authors' subsequent reflections and synthesis of these discussions and ideas. The conference and Leadership Program involved participants (n = 209) from 13 countries working primarily within clinical practice. The statement focuses on what must occur to transform how fundamental care is valued, prioritized and delivered within clinical practice settings globally. To ensure demonstrable change, the statement comprises four action-oriented strategies that must be systematically owned by healthcare staff and leaders and embedded in our healthcare organizations and systems: Address non-nursing tasks: reclaim and protect time to provide high-value fundamental care. Accentuate the positive: change from deficit-based to affirmative language when describing fundamental care. Access evidence and assess impact: demonstrate transformation in fundamental care by generating relevant indicators and impact measures and rigorously synthesizing existing research. Advocate for interprofessional collaboration: support high-quality, transdisciplinary fundamental care delivery via strong nursing leadership. The ILC Maine Statement calls for ongoing action - [r]evolution - from healthcare leaders and staff within clinical practice to prioritize fundamental care throughout healthcare systems globally. We outline four action-oriented strategies that can be embedded within clinical practice to substantially transform how fundamental care is delivered. Specific actions to support these strategies are outlined, providing healthcare leaders and staff a road map to continue the transformation of fundamental care within our healthcare systems. Fundamental care affects everyone across their life course, regardless of care context, clinical condition, age and/or the presence of disability. This position statement represents a call to action to healthcare leaders and staff working specifically in clinical practice, urging them to take up the leadership challenge of transforming how fundamental care is delivered and experience globally. Patients, service users and caregivers were involved in the ILC annual conference, thus contributing to the discussions that shaped this position statement. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER CONTRIBUTE TO THE WIDER GLOBAL CLINICAL COMMUNITY?: The strategies and actions outlined in this position statement are relevant to all clinical settings globally, providing practical strategies and actions that can be employed to enhance fundamental care for all patients and their families/carers. By outlining the importance of both evolutionary and revolutionary change, we identify ways in which healthcare systems globally can begin making the necessary steps towards radical fundamental care transformation, regardless of where they are in the change journey.

Substance Use Among Middle School Adolescents: Association with Family Members’ and Peers’ Substance Use and the Mediating Role of School and Mental Difficulties

Objective We assessed the associations of substance (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and other illicit drugs) use of adolescents with that of their family members (father, mother, step-parent, brothers/sisters, and grandparents) and peers, and the mediating role of school and mental difficulties (SMDs) which remained insufficiently addressed. Methods This cross-sectional population-based study included 1,559 middle-school adolescents in France (mean age = 13.5 ± 1.3, 778 boys, 781 girls). They completed a questionnaire including socioeconomic features (nationality, family structure and parents’ education, occupation, and income), substance use, cumulative number of substance use of family members (father, mother, step-parent, brothers/sisters, and grandparents) and peers (noted familySUcn and peerSUcn), SMDs (grade repetition, suffered physical/verbal violence, sexual abuse, lack of family/peer support, depressive symptoms, suicide attempt, and age at onset). Data were analyzed using logistic regression models and Kaplan–Meier estimates. Results Most adolescents had familySUcn 1–2, 3–5, and ≥ 6 (39.1%, 23.0%, and 4.5%, respectively) and peerSUcn 1–2 and ≥ 3 (36.1% and 13.0%, respectively). Strong dose–effect associations were found between all substance use and familySUcn and peerSUcn (odds ratio adjusted for sex, age, and socioeconomic features reaching 13.44 and 9.90, respectively, most with p < .001). SMDs explained more the associations of all substance use with familySUcn than with peerSUcn (contributions reaching 69% and 34%, respectively). The proportion of subjects without each substance use decreased with age more quickly among the adolescents with higher familySUcn or peerSUcn. Conclusions Early prevention reducing familySUcn, peerSUcn and SMDs among adolescents and their families may reduce efficiently initiation and regular use of substances during adolescents’ life course.

Individual and Community-Contextual Level Factors Associated With Wellbeing Among Older Adults in Rural Zambia.

Objective: This article aims to identify individual and community-contextual level factors associated with the wellbeing of older adults (50years and older) in rural Zambia. Methods: Data from the nationally representative 2015 Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (LCMS) was used. Employing multilevel mixed effects, the individual and community-contextual factors on wellbeing were determined. Results: Overall, 31.7% of rural older adults perceived their wellbeing as good. Both individual and community-contextual level factors are associated with the wellbeing of older adults in rural communities. At the individual level, wellbeing was associated with higher education attainment. Community-contextual factors significantly associated with wellbeing included improved housing, access to piped tap water within the premises, own charcoal or income to purchase firewood. Conclusion: The findings foreground the imperative to analyse both individual and community-contextual level factors of wellbeing to generate and present evidence for investments in education across the life course and for the development of infrastructure towards increasing the wellbeing of rural older adults. Additionally, the results provide a basis for planning by devising policies and programmes for older people to thrive and for no one to be left behind regardless the setting.

Religion and Fertility: A Longitudinal Register Study Examining Differences by Sex, Parity, Partner's Religion, and Religious Conversion in Finland.

We use longitudinal data on religious affiliation in Finland to examine childbearing behavior. All analyses are based on detailed fertility information from the Finnish national register of each person's religious denomination for men and women born in 1956-1975. We identify higher fertility according to parity among members of the Evangelical Lutheran state church and other Protestant churches, and lower fertility among individuals with no religious affiliation. Most other religious groups-Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, and adherents of Eastern religions-have intermediate levels of fertility. We also find that religious converts, that is, those observed with more than one religious denomination over their life course, typically are similar to the non-converts of the group they convert to, though with more distinct deviations from the Finnish population. Women show larger differences by religious affiliation than men. We find the largest differences across religions when we examine the proportion of childless men and women. Overall, differences between religious groups are rather modest, and childbearing patterns are quite similar. Our results provide, to our knowledge, the first examination of religion and fertility using national-level longitudinal data.

Children and adolescent consumer behavior: Insights from the life course paradigm

AbstractResearchers have long been interested in understanding young consumers, but they have had inadequate methods for studying their consumption‐related thoughts and actions at early stages of life and how these develop and change during formative years. Recent theoretical and methodological advances in behavioral and social science have contributed to the development of a research approach, known as “life course paradigm.” This approach has helped replace and integrate previously used theories and methods by offering researchers an over‐arching multi‐theoretical framework for studying a wide variety of phenomena; and it has rapidly diffused across disciplines, and is increasingly used internationally. This article shows how consumer researchers could benefit from applying this conceptual research framework to improve existing models and study youths' consumer behavior in an innovative way.

Navigating work and motherhood: exploring the link between career orientation and childbearing motivations in emerging adulthood

ABSTRACT Background Difficulties in reconciling work and family life are recognised as one of the major reasons for women delaying or even forgoing childbearing. Nonetheless, there are different mechanisms through which women’s engagement in the labour market can impact their choices regarding having children. The current study focuses on the relationship between women’s career orientation and the childbearing motivation of young, childless women. Additionally, we examine the moderating effect of women’s self-esteem. Methods Questionnaires to assess women’s childbearing motivation, career orientation (career commitment and career centeredness), and self-esteem were administered online to Polish childless women aged 18–25 (N = 358). Multivariate regression was performed to verify how professional aspirations determine childbearing motivation. Moderation analysis included self-esteem in the equation. Results Women’s desire to be employed over their life course (career commitment) was associated with perceiving childbearing as less strenuous. However, women who placed a higher value on professional development perceived more costs and barriers related to parenthood. Women with higher self-esteem demonstrated a generally more negative view of childbearing, yet their perceived costs of having children increased along with rising professional aspirations. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that career aspirations are a highly complex construct, and their relationship to childbearing motivation may differ depending on how women perceive their future in the labour market. The mere desire to engage in professional work is not detrimental to childbearing motivation, but the anticipated costs of having children become greater the more a woman is career-centred and the lower her self-esteem.

Life course plasma metabolomic signatures of genetic liability to Alzheimer’s disease

Mechanisms through which most known Alzheimer’s disease (AD) loci operate to increase AD risk remain unclear. Although Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is known to regulate lipid homeostasis, the effects of broader AD genetic liability on non-lipid metabolites remain unknown, and the earliest ages at which metabolic perturbations occur and how these change over time are yet to be elucidated. We examined the effects of AD genetic liability on the plasma metabolome across the life course. Using a reverse Mendelian randomization framework in two population-based cohorts [Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, n = 5648) and UK Biobank (n ≤ 118,466)], we estimated the effects of genetic liability to AD on 229 plasma metabolites, at seven different life stages, spanning 8 to 73 years. We also compared the specific effects of APOE ε4 and APOE ε2 carriage on metabolites. In ALSPAC, AD genetic liability demonstrated the strongest positive associations with cholesterol-related traits, with similar magnitudes of association observed across all age groups including in childhood. In UK Biobank, the effect of AD liability on several lipid traits decreased with age. Fatty acid metabolites demonstrated positive associations with AD liability in both cohorts, though with smaller magnitudes than lipid traits. Sensitivity analyses indicated that observed effects are largely driven by the strongest AD instrument, APOE, with many contrasting effects observed on lipids and fatty acids for both ε4 and ε2 carriage. Our findings indicate pronounced effects of the ε4 and ε2 genetic variants on both pro- and anti-atherogenic lipid traits and sphingomyelins, which begin in childhood and either persist into later life or appear to change dynamically.

Middle class by effort? Immigration, nation, and class from a transnational and intersectional perspective

ABSTRACT This article examines how highly skilled immigrants from Poland become middle-class in Germany through a transnational and intersectional lens. Hence, it asks what is the middle-class, and who and where belongs to it. First, it considers the fluidity of social class in post-socialist Poland to deconstruct middle-classness. Second, it draws on Reckwitz's distinction between the new and old middle classes in Germany and their factions to argue that immigrants cannot become middle class members by default. Based on the analysis of empirical material consisting of narrations of Polish immigrants, the article asks if Polish immigrants become middle class ‘by effort’. The analysis shows that Polish immigrants’ habitus locates them in-between different middle-class factions. The narrations suggest that these immigrants experience discrimination and exclusion, but – curiously – also demonstrate these immigrants’ lack of awareness of structural barriers in access to the middle-class factions in Germany. It argues that such ‘blindness’ to structural underpinnings of exclusion is a result of the entanglements of nationalism and neoliberalism, for example, the immigrants’ belief in meritocratic principles. Finally, the article suggests avenues for future theory-building by addressing the intersection of social class, gender, life course, and ethnicity to better understand middle-classness of immigrants.

Health system barriers to access to quality sexual and reproductive health and rights in relation to family planning and contraception

Background: Access to reproductive health information and services is critical to health, well-being, and the ability to achieve personal and corporate life and work goals. Within the context of sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR), the health system should adopt a life course approach to achieve a continuum of care. This spectrum needs to span from conception to the care of the aging woman across all contexts and must encompass humanitarian crises, climate change, and environmental exposures while embracing the ongoing digital transformation narrative. Current challenges relating to family planning and contraception (FPC) within the Kenyan context typically arise from highly prevalent unfavorable sociocultural norms and traditions.&#x0D; Selected SRHR intervention programs: Programs that promote girls’ education and enhance community engagement to effect sociobehavioral change programing have high transformative potential. Some of these programs include the provision of contraception, adolescent, and youth-friendly programs (AYFS), intimate partner violence intervention programs, HIV prevention, use of multipurpose product technologies (MPT), prevention of abortion-related mortality, provision of access to maternity care, and continuous improvement of quality of care.&#x0D; Conclusion: Obstetricians and gynecologists must commit to governance leadership that focuses on SMART advocacy, the establishment of health system resilience to provide access, effective coverage, and rights-based approaches. These are vital to the provision of optimal FPC care in Kenya.

A sociology of existence for a late modern world. Basic assumptions and conceptual tools

AbstractIn the present article, we outline basic assumptions and conceptual tools for a sociology of existence. First, we address man's fundamental conditions of existence: that life's finitude and encounters with the uncertainty of existence are fundamental experiences that construct social relations. Second, we outline how existential meaning‐making and the ability to cope with the unpredictability of life are dependent on power resources, where especially the resource poor may experience ‘existential nausea’. Third, we discuss how existential dilemmas may intensify under certain historical eras. Therefore, studying individuals' existential dilemmas is a tool to examine the dominant social issues at a particular time and place. Fourth, we elaborate on the importance of studying turning points during individuals' life courses, as existential meaning – or lack thereof – becomes particularly salient at these times. This includes an understanding that death and rebirth are experienced in the form of various endings and beginnings in everyday life. Fifth, and finally, we emphasize an analysis in which the direction of people's lives is conceptualized in a broad time perspective, where past, present, and future interact and influence life choices and social relations constructed during a lifetime.