Previous research documents a robust relationship between financial strain and psychological distress in older adults, but does not clearly indicate whether financial strain changes with age in late life. We show that age is positively related to financial strain when age and cohort effects are separated using growth curve modeling, and this relationship is masked in conventional regression models by a negative effect of birth cohort. Age-related increases are stronger among women and elders with lower levels of education, but weaker when individuals were born substantially before or at the end of the Great Depression. This research demonstrates that many older adults are increasingly exposed to a pernicious socioeconomic stressor as they age, but these increases are circumscribed by placement in a matrix of historical and structural circumstances. Furthermore, analyses that do not distinguish between age and cohort effects may fail to detect these increases.
AlbeldaRandy P.1986. “Occupational Segregation by Race and Gender, 1958-1981.” Industrial and Labor Relations Review39:404-411.
2.
AlmeidaOsvaldo P.DraperBrianSnowdonJohnLautenschlagerNicola T.PirkisJaneByrneGerardSimMoiraStocksNigelFlickerLeonPfaffJon J.2012. “Factors Associated with Suicidal Thoughts in a Large Community Study of Older Adults.” British Journal of Psychiatry201:466-72.
3.
AlwinDuane. F.HoferScott M.McCammonRyan J.2006. “Modeling the Effects of Time: Integrating Demographic and Developmental Perspectives.” Pp. 20-38 in Handbook of the Aging and the Social Sciences, 6th ed., edited by BinstockR. H.GeorgeL. K.San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
4.
AneshenselCarol S.2013. Theory-based Data Analysis for the Social Sciences, 2nd ed.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
5.
AnguelovChris E.TamboriniChristopher R.2009. “Retiring in Debt? Differences between the 1995 and 2004 Near-retiree Cohorts.” Social Security Bulletin69:13-34.
6.
BarfordAnnaDorlingDannySmithGeorge DaveyShawMary. 2006. “Life Expectancy: Women Now on Top Everywhere.” BMJ332:808.
7.
BerthoudRichardBlekesauneMortenHancockRuth. 2009. “Ageing, Income and Living Standards: Evidence from the British Household Panel Survey.” Ageing and Society29:1105-22.
8.
BiermanAlex. 2011. “Pain and Depression in Late Life: Mastery as Mediator and Moderator.” Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences66:595-604.
9.
BrownTyson H.O’RandAngela M.AdkinsDaniel E.2012. “Race-ethnicity and Health Trajectories: Tests of Three Hypotheses across Multiple Groups and Health Outcomes.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior53:359-77.
10.
CookFay LomaxSetterstenRichard A.1995. “Expenditure Patterns by Age and Income among Mature Adults: Does Age Matter?” Gerontologist35:10-23.
11.
CrystalStephenWaehrerKeith. 1996. “Later-life Economic Inequality in Longitudinal Perspective.” Journals of Gerontology51B:S307-S318.
12.
DanneferDale. 1987. “Aging as Intracohort Differentiation: Accentuation, the Matthew Effect, and the Life Course.” Sociological Forum2:211-36.
13.
DanneferDale. 2003. “Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage and the Life Course: Cross-fertilizing Age and Social Science Theory.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences58B:S327-S337.
14.
DanzigerSheldonVan Der GaagJacquesSmolenskyEugeneTaussigMichael K.1982. “The Life-cycle Hypothesis and the Consumption Behavior of the Elderly.” Journal of Post Keynesian Economics5:208-27.
15.
DentonMargaretBoosLinda. 2007. “Gender Gap in Wealth: Structural and Material Constraints.” Journal of Women & Aging19:105-20.
16.
DupreMatthew E.2007. “Educational Differences in Age-related Patterns of Disease: Reconsidering the Cumulative Disadvantage and Age-as-leveler Hypotheses.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior48:1-15.
17.
ElderGlen H.Jr.1987. “War Mobilization and the Life Course: A Cohort of World War II Veterans.” Sociological Forum2:449-72.
18.
ElderGlen H.Jr.ShanahanMichael J.ClippElizabeth Colerick. 1994. “When War Comes to Men’s Lives: Life Course Patterns in Family, Work and Health.” Psychology and Aging9:5-16.
19.
ElmanCherylO’RandAngela M.2004. “The Race Is to the Swift: Socioeconomic Origins, Adult Education, and Wage Attainment.” American Journal of Sociology110:123-60.
20.
EndersCraig. 2013. “Centering Predictors and Contextual Effects.” Pp. 89-109 in The Sage Handbook of Multilevel Modeling, edited by ScottM.SimonoffJ.MarxB.London, UK: Sage.
21.
FoxJohn. 2008. Applied Regression Analysis and Generalized Linear Models. Thousan Oaks, CA: Sage.
22.
GallTerry LynnEvansDavid R.2000. “Preretirement Expectations and the Quality of Life of Male Retirees in Later Retirement.” Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science32:187-97.
23.
GoettingMarshaRaiserM. ValoraMartinPeterPoonLeonard W.JohnsonMary Ann. 1996. “Older Women’s Financial Resources and Perception of Financial Adequacy.” Journal of Women & Aging7:67-81.
24.
GokhaleJagadeeshKotlikoffLaurence J.SabelhausJohn. 1996. “Understanding the Postwar Decline in US Saving: A Cohort Analysis.” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity1:315-90.
25.
HardyMelissa A.2009. “Income Inequality in Later Life.” Pp. 493-518 in International Handbook of Population Aging, edited by UhlenbergP.New York, NY: Springer.
26.
HayesAndrew F.CaiLi. 2007. “Using Heteroscedasticity-consistent Standard Error Estimators in OLS Regression: An Introduction and Software Implementation.” Behavior Research Methods39:709-22.
27.
HoffmanLesaStawskiRobert S.2009. “Persons as Contexts: Evaluating Between-person and Within-person Effects in Longitudinal Analysis.” Research in Human Development6:97-120.
28.
HughesMary ElizabethO’RandAngela M.2004. The American People Census 2000: The Lives and Times of the Baby Boomers. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
29.
JianakoplosNancy AmmonBernasekAlexandra. 2006. “Financial Risk Taking by Age and Birth Cohort.” Southern Economic Journal72:981-1001.
30.
KeithVerna M.1993. “Gender, Financial Strain, and Psychological Distress among Older Adults.” Research on Aging15:123-47.
31.
KimHyungsooLeeJinkook. 2005. “Unequal Effects of Elders’ Health Problems on Wealth Depletion across Race and Ethnicity.” Journal of Consumer Affairs39:148-72.
32.
KimHyungsooYoonWonahZurloKaren A.2012. “Health Shocks, Out-of-pocket Medical Expenses and Consumer Debt Among Middle-aged and Older Americans.” Journal of Consumer Affairs46:357-80.
33.
KeyesKatherine M.UtzRebecca L.RobinsonWhitneyLiGuohua. 2010. “What Is a Cohort Effect? Comparison of Three Statistical Methods for Modeling Cohort Effects in Obesity Prevalence in the United States, 1971-2006.” Social Science and Medicine70:1100-1108.
34.
KrauseNeal. 1993. “Race Differences in Life Satisfaction among Aged Men and Women.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences48:S235-S244.
35.
KwateNaa Oyo A.2008. “Fried Chicken and Fresh Apples: Racial Segregation as a Fundamental Cause of Fast Food Density in Black Neighborhoods.” Health and Place14:32-44.
36.
LeeYoon G.2004. “Financial Status of Older Americans Aged 70 and Above: A Comparison of Successive Age Cohorts.” Hallym International Journal of Aging6:37-55.
37.
LeeJinkookKimHyungsoo. 2008. “A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Health Shocks on the Wealth of Elders.” Journal of Population Economics21:217-30.
38.
LevecqueKatiaRossemRonan VanBoyserKatrien DeVan de VeldeSarahBrackePiet. 2011. “Economic Hardship and Depression across the Life Course: The Impact of Welfare State Regimes.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior52:262-76.
39.
LynchScott M.2003. “Cohort and Life-course Patterns in the Relationship between Education and Health: A Hierarchical Approach.” Demography40:309-31.
40.
LynchScott M.2008. “Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Health in Life-course Perspective: Introduction to the Special Issue.” Research on Aging30:127-36.
41.
McClendonMcKee J.2002. Multiple Regression and Causal Analysis. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
42.
MilkieMelissa A.BiermanAlexSchiemanScott. 2008. “How Adult Children Influence Older Parents’ Mental Health: Integrating Stress-process and Life-course Perspectives.” Social Psychology Quarterly71:86-105.
43.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.1999a. “Economic Hardship across the Life Course.” American Sociological Review64:548-69.
44.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine E.1999b. “Economic Hardship Declines with Age: Reply to Hardy & Hazelrigg.” American Sociological Review64:577-84.
45.
MirowskyJohnRossCatherine. 2010. “Well-Being across the Life Course.” Pp. 361-83 in A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health, Second Edition: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems, edited by ScheidT. L.BrownT. N.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
46.
MiyazakiYasuoRaudenbushStephen W.2000. “Tests for Linkage of Multiple Cohorts in an Accelerated Longitudinal Design.” Psychological Methods5:44-63.
47.
MorlandKimberlyWingSteveRouxAna DiezPooleCharles. 2002. “Neighborhood Characteristics Associated with the Location of Food Stores and Food Service Places.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine22:23-29.
48.
OfferAvner. 2006. The Challenge of Affluence: Self-control and Well-being in the United States and Britain Since 1950. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
49.
O’RandAngela M.2002. “Cumulative Advantage Theory in Life Course Research.” Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics22:14-20.
50.
PearlinLeonard I.1999. “The Stress Process Revisited: Reflections on Concepts and Their Interrelationships.” Pp. 395-415 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, edited by C. S.AneshenselPhelanJ. C.New York, NY: Plenum.
51.
PearlinLeonard I.BiermanAlex. 2013. “Current Issues and Future Directions in Research into the Stress Process.” Pp. 325-340 in Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, 2nd ed., edited by AneshenselC. S.PhelanJ. C.BiermanA.Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer.
52.
PearlinLeonardLiebermanMortonMenaghanElizabethMullenJoseph T.1981. “The Stress Process.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior22:337-56.
53.
PhelanJo C.LinkBruce G.TehranifarParisa. 2010. “Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Health Inequalities Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior51: S28-S40.
54.
PlagnolAnke C.2011. “Financial Satisfaction over the Life Course: The Influence of Assets and Liabilities.” Journal of Economic Psychology32:45-64.
55.
PudrovskaTetyanaSchiemanScottPearlinLeonard I.NguyenKim. 2005. “The Sense of Mastery as a Mediator and Moderator in the Association between Economic Hardship and Health in Late Life.” Journal of Aging and Health17:634-60.
56.
SchiemanScottPlickertGabriele. 2007. “Functional Limitations and Changes in Levels of Depression among Older Adults: A Multiple-hierarchy Stratification Perspective.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences62B:S36-S42.
57.
SheaDennis G.MilesToniHaywardMark. 1996. “The Health-wealth Connection: Racial Differences.” Gerontologist36:342-49.
SiminskiPeterYerokhinOleg. 2012. “Is the Age Gradient in Self-reported Material Hardship Explained by Resources, Needs, Behaviours or Reporting Bias?” Review of Income and Wealth58:715-41.
60.
SmithJoan. 1987. “Transforming Households: Working-class Women and Economic Crisis.” Social Problems34:416-36.
61.
SnijdersTomBoskerRoel. 2012. Multilevel Analysis: An Introduction to Basic and Applied Multilevel Analysis, 2nd ed.London, UK: Sage.
62.
StollerMichael AlanStollerEleanor Palo. 2003. “Perceived Income Adequacy among Elderly Retirees.” Journal of Applied Gerontology22:230-51.
63.
SzantonSarah L.AllenJerilyn K.ThorpeRoland J.Jr.SeemanTeresaBandeen-RocheKarenFriedLinda P.2008. “Effect of Financial Strain on Mortality in Community-dwelling Older Women.” Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences63B:S369-S374.
64.
SzantonSarah L.ThorpeRoland J.GitlinLaura N.2014. “Beat the Blues Decreases Depression in Financially Strained Older African-American Adults.” American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry22:692-7.
65.
TreimanDonald J.1992. “Status Attainment.” Pp. 2090-96 in Encyclopedia of Sociology, edited by BorgattaE. F.BorgattaM. L.New York, NY: Macmillan.
66.
WarrenJohn RobertSheridanJennifer T.HauserRobert M.2002. “Occupational Stratification across the Life Course: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal.” American Sociological Review67:432-55.
67.
WilliamsDavid R.CollinsChiquita. 2001. “Racial Residential Segregation: A Fundamental Cause of Racial Disparities in Health.” Public Health Reports116:404-16.
68.
WilliamsDavid R.SternthalMichelle. 2010. “Understanding Racial-ethnic Disparities in Health: Sociological Contributions.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior51:S15-S26.
69.
WolffEdward N.2002. “Income, Wealth, and Late-life Inequality in the United States.” Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics22:31-58.
70.
YangYangLandKenneth C.2013. Age-period-cohort Analysis: New Models, Methods, and Empirical Applications. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
71.
YangYangLeeLinda C.2009. “Sex and Race Disparities in Health: Cohort Variations in Life Course Patterns.” Social Forces84:2093-24.
