The Influence of Unpaid Work on the Transition Out of Full-Time Paid Work

Purpose: Continued employment after retirement and engagement in unpaid work are both important ways of diminishing the negative economic effects of the retirement of baby boomer cohorts on society. Little research, however, examines the relationship between paid and unpaid work at the transition from full-time work. Using a resource perspective framework this study examines how engagement in unpaid work prior to and at the transition from full-time work influences whether individuals partially or fully retire. Design and Methods: This study used a sample of 2,236 Americans between the ages 50 and 68, who were interviewed between 1998 and 2008. Logistic regression was used to estimate transitioning into partial retirement (relative to full retirement) after leaving full-time work. Results: We found that the odds of transitioning into part-time work were increased by continuous volunteering (78%) and reduced by starting parental (84%), grandchild (41%), and spousal (90%) caregiving and unaffected by all other patterns of engagement in unpaid work. Implications: Our findings suggest that volunteering is complementary with a transition to part-time work, and starting a new caregiving role at this transitioncreates a barrier to continued employment. In order to provide workers the opportunity to engage in the work force longer at the brink of retirement, it may be necessary to increase the support mechanisms for those who experience new caregiving responsibilities

Socioeconomic position in childhood and cancer in adulthood: a rapid-review

Background The relationship of childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) to adult cancer has been inconsistent in the literature and there has been no review summarising the current evidence focused solely on cancer outcomes.  Methods and results We performed a rapid review of the literature, which identified 22 publications from 13 studies, primarily in the UK and northern European countries that specifically analysed individual measures of SEP in childhood and cancer outcomes in adulthood. Most of these studies adjusted for adult SEP as a critical mediator of the relationship of interest.  Conclusions Results confirm that childhood socioeconomic circumstances have a strong influence on stomach cancer and are likely to contribute, along with adult circumstances, to lung cancer through cumulative exposure to smoking. There was also some evidence of increased risk of colorectal, liver, cervical and pancreatic cancers with lower childhood SEP in large studies, but small numbers of cancer deaths made these estimates imprecise. Gaps in knowledge and potential policy implications are presented

Maturation of the Language Network: From Inter- to Intrahemispheric Connectivities

Language development must go hand-in-hand with brain maturation. Little is known about how the brain develops to serve language processing, in particular, the processing of complex syntax, a capacity unique to humans. Behavioral reports indicate that the ability to process complex syntax is not yet adult-like by the age of seven years. Here, we apply a novel method to demonstrate that the basic neural basis of language, as revealed by low frequency fluctuation stemming from functional MRI data, differs between six-year-old children and adults in crucial aspects. Although the classical language regions are actively in place by the age of six, the functional connectivity between these regions clearly is not. In contrast to adults who show strong connectivities between frontal and temporal language regions within the left hemisphere, children's default language network is characterized by a strong functional interhemispheric connectivity, mainly between the superior temporal regions. These data indicate a functional reorganization of the neural network underlying language development towards a system that allows a close interplay between frontal and temporal regions within the left hemisphere

“Charity Begins at Home”: Informal Caring Barriers to Formal Volunteering Among Older People

Formal volunteering is an important economic and social activity. In many countries, prevalence of volunteering is decreasing overall, including among older people who constitute a major volunteering resource. This qualitative study explored reasons for non-volunteering among seniors, with a focus on those who attribute their non-volunteering to their existing helping commitments. Forty-nine Australian interviewees aged 60 + years described a range of social, psychological, and temporal factors that resulted in their prioritization of informal rather than formal volunteering activities. These factors are mapped onto a theoretical framework matrix, with social identity and social capital theories appearing to possess the most explanatory power. The findings suggest that programs designed to encourage formal volunteering among older people need to be implemented in a manner that recognizes that members of this group can hold many other responsibilities that limit their ability to participate, especially those assisting in the care of multiple generations

Exploring the effects of spousal race on the self-rated health of intermarried adults.

Marital health advantages and the increase of interracial marriage (intermarriage) are well documented, but few studies investigate the health of intermarried people. We address this issue using aggregated data from the 2000–2013 Current Population Survey (CPS) and find that people with racial/ethnic minority spouses report lower self-rated health than those married to whites. Spousal race significantly moderated the association between respondent’s race and self-rated health such that minorities in same-race marriages had lower odds of reporting better health than those intermarried to whites. However, we found no differences in self-rated health among minorities intermarried to other minorities. There was also limited evidence that gender and socioeconomic status (SES) moderated the interaction between respondent’s race and spousal race. Our findings highlight the effects of marriage on the self-rated health of respondents and their spouse as well as the importance of examining differences in couple’s racial composition when investigating racial disparities in spousal health

Can States Lead the Way to Universal Coverage? The Effect of Health-Care Reform on the Uninsured

This study assesses the impact of state policy reforms on health insurance coverage in the U.S. states considering three approaches to reform: consumer protection policies, policies relaxing regulation on insurance companies, and policies expanding public benefits. Copyright (c) 2009 by the Southwestern Social Science Association.