Life Course Trajectories of Later-Life Cognitive Functions: Does Social Engagement in Old Age Matter?

Sojung Park, Eunsun Kwon and Hyunjoo Lee
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Sojung Park: George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, 1 Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63130, USA
Eunsun Kwon: Center for Social Science, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Korea
Hyunjoo Lee: Department of Social Work, Daegu University, 201 Deagudae-ro, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 38453, Korea

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: This study identified differential patterns of later-life cognitive function trajectories and examined to what extent life course factors and social engagement are associated with group trajectories. Data came from seven waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS 1998–2010; n = 7374; Observations = 41,051). Latent class growth analysis identified cognitive function trajectory groups, and multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the factors associated with group trajectories. Five heterogeneous trajectories were identified: stable high, stable moderate, stable low, high-to-moderate, and moderate-to-low. Findings suggest that, after adjusting for life course factors, individuals who became volunteers were more likely to belong to one of the two least vulnerable trajectories, stable high or high-to-moderate. Our findings suggest that, despite the cumulative life course factors evident in cognitive decline, social engagement in old age may serve as a potential protective resource.

Keywords: life-course perspective; cumulative disadvantage; cognitive function; social engagement; group trajectory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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