Work-Family Life Courses and Later-Life Health in China

Jianji Chen , Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED-CERCA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Sergi Vidal , Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Jeroen Spijker, Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED)

Health inequalities among elder adults in China has greatly increased in recent years, to which the dynamics of work and family lives may contribute accumulatively. To close gaps in knowledge, this study addresses the role of family-work trajectories for elderly physical and mental health among elder people in China. We also assess heterogeneity in the associations across men and women, as well as variations across birth cohorts and urban/rural areas that capture differences in socio-historical context. The study adopts a long-term life course perspective and theorizes a range of pathways linking later-life health outcomes with individuals’ past work and family biographies. The empirical analysis deploys sequence and regression analyses to assess how work-family trajectories from age 16 to age 60 associate with physical and mental health outcomes in later stages. We use a sample of elder individuals (aged 60 or more in 2018; N = 9,786) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Preliminary results show substantive variation in health indicators among respondents, and across study groups. Next steps include addressing how health outcomes associate with prior life courses. This study will contribute to our understanding of the linkages between demographic change, the organization of families, and health in later life in the context of China.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe