Working life and retirement expectancies at age 50 by social class: period and cohort trends and projections for Finland

The balance between the amount of time spent in work and in retirement underlies the long-term sustainability of the social security system. We examined socioeconomic differences in how increasing longevity is distributed between labor market statuses in Finland

Early Life Conditions and Cause-Specific Mortality in Finland

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between early life socioeconomic status, household structure and adult all cause and cause-specific mortality in Finland during the latter half of the twentieth century. We base the analyses on a 10% sample of households drawn from the 1950 Finnish Census of Population with the follow-up of household members in subsequent censuses and death records beginning from the end of 1970 through the end of 1998. The Finnish data constitute a unique register based data set that does not rely on individual recall of early life social conditions, parental educational attainment, family type, and other life course trajectories. We find significant associations between early life social and family conditions on all cause mortality as well as mortality from cardiovascular and alcohol related diseases, accidents and violence; with protective effects of higher childhood SES varying between 10% and 30%. These associations are mediated through adult educational attainment and other socio-demographic characteristics. The results imply that long-term adverse health consequences of disadvantaged early life social circumstances may be mitigated by investments in educational and employment opportunities in early adulthood

Work-family typologies and mental health among women in early working ages

Better mental health is observed among women with a partner, children, or employment as compared with women without a partner, children, or employment, respectively. Moreover, women who fulfill all three roles are generally healthier than those with fewer roles. Because of significant changes in work-family life constellations over age, understanding these health differentials requires a life course approach. We linked work-family trajectories to mental health in mid-life for Finnish women using longitudinal registry data. Panel data from an 11% random sample of the population residing in Finland in any year between 1987 and 2007 and followed up until 2013 were used. Work-family combinations were based on partnership status, motherhood status, and employment status. Purchases of prescribed psychotropic medication were used as a measure of mental health. We used sequence analysis to identify 7 distinct groups of women based on their work-family trajectories between ages 20 to 42 years. The associations of typologies of trajectories with mental health at age 43 years were estimated with logistic regression models. Compared to employed mothers with a partner, all other women were more likely to have purchased any psychotropic medication at age 43; especially women without a partner, children or employment and lone mothers had worse mental health. These disadvantages remained after controlling for psychotropic medication purchases earlier in life (to account for potential health selection). Adjusting for age at motherhood did not contribute to the better mental health of employed mothers with a partner. Women combining partnership, motherhood, and employment during early working ages had better mental health later in life than women with other work-family trajectories even after adjusting for mental health earlier in life. Interventions to improve the mental health of women living alone in mid-life, including lone mothers, and individuals without employment, may be needed

Cohabitation and mental health : Is psychotropic medication use more common in cohabitation than marriage?

Marriage is associated with better mental health. While research on the mental health of cohabiting individuals has increased in recent years, it has yielded mixed results thus far. We assessed whether the mental health of cohabiters is comparable to that of married individuals or those living alone using longitudinal data on psychotropic medication purchases. Panel data from an 11% random sample of the population residing in Finland for the years 1995 to 2007, with annual measurements of all covariates, were used. Ordinary least squares (OLS) models were applied to disentangle the relation between cohabitation and psychotropic medication purchases while controlling for relevant time-varying factors (age, education, economic activity, and number of children), and individual fixed effects (FE) models to further account for unobserved time-invariant individual factors. Our sample consisted of 63,077 men and 61,101 women aged 25 to 39 years in 1995. Descriptive results and the OLS model indicated that the likelihood of purchasing psychotropic medication was lowest for married individuals, higher for cohabiters, and highest for individuals living alone. This difference between cohabiting and married individuals disappeared after controlling for time-varying covariates (percent difference [% diff] for men: 0.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.0, 0.6; % diff for women: -0.2, 95% CI: -0.6, 0.2). Further controlling for unobserved confounders in the FE models did not change this non-significant difference between cohabiting and married individuals. The excess purchases of psychotropic medication among individuals living alone compared to those cohabiting decreased to 1.2 (95% CI: 1.0, 1.4) and 1.4 (95% CI: 1.1, 1.6) percentage-points in the fully-adjusted FE model for men and women, respectively. Similar results were found for all subcategories of psychotropic medication. In summary, these findings suggested that the mental health difference between cohabiting and married individuals, but not the difference between cohabiting individuals and those living alone, was largely due to selection.Peer reviewe

Medically assisted reproduction and birth outcomes : a within-family analysis using Finnish population registers

Summary Background Children born after medically assisted reproduction are at higher risk of adverse birth outcomes than are children conceived naturally. We aimed to establish the extent to which this excess risk should be attributed to harmful effects of treatment or to pre-existing parental characteristics that confound the association. Methods We used data from Finnish administrative registers covering a 20% random sample of households with at least one child aged 0–14 years at the end of 2000 (n=65 723). We analysed birthweight, gestational age, risk of low birthweight, and risk of preterm birth among children conceived both by medically assisted reproduction and naturally. First, we estimated differences in birth outcomes by mode of conception in the general population, using standard multivariate methods that controlled for observed factors (eg, multiple birth, birth order, and parental sociodemographic characteristics). Second, we used a sibling-comparison approach that has not been used before in medically assisted reproduction research. We compared children conceived by medically assisted reproduction with siblings conceived naturally and, thus, controlled for all observed and unobserved factors shared by siblings. Findings Between 1995 and 2000, 2776 (4%) children in our sample were conceived by medically assisted reproduction; 1245 children were included in the sibling comparison. Children conceived by medically assisted reproduction had worse outcomes than did those conceived naturally, for all outcomes, even after adjustments for observed child and parental characteristics—eg, difference in birthweight of −60 g (95% CI −86 to −34) and 2·15 percentage point (95% CI 1·07 to 3·24) increased risk of preterm delivery. In the sibling comparison, the gap in birth outcomes was attenuated, such that the relation between medically assisted reproduction and adverse birth outcomes was statistically and substantively weak for all outcomes—eg, difference in birthweight of −31 g (95% CI −85 to 22) and 1·56 percentage point (95% CI −1·26 to 4·38) increased risk of preterm delivery. Interpretation Children conceived by medically assisted reproduction face an elevated risk of adverse birth outcomes. However, our results indicate that this increased risk is largely attributable to factors other than the medically assisted reproduction treatment itself. Funding European Research Council, the Academy of Finland, and the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation.Peer reviewe

The gendered impacts of delayed parenthood: A dynamic analysis of young adulthood

Young adulthood is a dynamic and demographically dense stage in the life course. This poses a challenge for research on the socioeconomic consequences of parenthood timing, which most often focuses on women. We chart the dynamics of delayed parenthood and its implications for educational and labor market trajectories for young adult women and men using a novel longitudinal analysis approach, the parametric g-formula. This method allows the estimation of both population-averaged effects (among all women and men) and average treatment effects (among mothers and fathers). Based on high-quality data from Finnish registers, we find that later parenthood exacerbates the educational advantage of women in comparison to men and attenuates the income advantage of men in comparison to women across young adult ages. Gender differences in the consequences of delayed parenthood on labor market trajectories are largely not explained by changes in educational trajectories. Moreover, at the time of entering parenthood, delayed parenthood improves the incomes of fathers more than those of mothers, thereby exacerbating existing gender differences. The results provide population-level evidence on how the delay of parenthood has contributed to the strengthening of women’s educational position relative to that of men. Further, the findings on greater increases in fathers’ than mothers’ incomes at the time of entering parenthood, as followed by postponement, may help explain why progress in achieving gender equality in the division of paid and unpaid work in families has been slow.Peer reviewe

Education, Other Socioeconomic Characteristics Across the Life Course, and Fertility Among Finnish Men

Peer reviewe

The gendered impacts of delayed parenthood on educational and labor market outcomes : a dynamic analysis of population-level effects over young adulthood

Later parenthood is often beneficial for women, but less is known about its impact on men. As first births continue to occur later in life, it is important to understand whether this delay influences the educational and labor market outcomes of women and men differently, and how it changes the socioeconomic characteristics of children’s parents at birth. However, education, employment, and fertility are linked, implying that complex models are required in order to analyze the time-varying impacts of delayed parenthood. We use dynamic longitudinal models and Finnish data to analyze how, and through which socioeconomic mechanisms, a material delay in parenthood is likely to influence educational and labor market outcomes over young adulthood. A three-year delay in young-adult parenthood for all women increases educational enrollment in their early 20s, employment in their late 20s, and partly due to higher education income in their 30s. The impact of the same delay for men is more modest, and almost negligible for their employment, suggesting that later parenthood exacerbates the educational advantage of women and attenuates the income advantage of men. However, it strengthens the socioeconomic standing of both men and women when they become parents, essentially due to the accumulation of effects

The gendered impacts of delayed parenthood on educational and labor market outcomes : a dynamic analysis of population-level effects over young adulthood

Later parenthood is often beneficial for women, but less is known about its impact on men. As first births continue to occur later in life, it is important to understand whether this delay influences the educational and labor market outcomes of women and men differently, and how it changes the socioeconomic characteristics of children’s parents at birth. However, education, employment, and fertility are linked, implying that complex models are required in order to analyze the time-varying impacts of delayed parenthood. We use dynamic longitudinal models and Finnish data to analyze how, and through which socioeconomic mechanisms, a material delay in parenthood is likely to influence educational and labor market outcomes over young adulthood. A three-year delay in young-adult parenthood for all women increases educational enrollment in their early 20s, employment in their late 20s, and partly due to higher education income in their 30s. The impact of the same delay for men is more modest, and almost negligible for their employment, suggesting that later parenthood exacerbates the educational advantage of women and attenuates the income advantage of men. However, it strengthens the socioeconomic standing of both men and women when they become parents, essentially due to the accumulation of effects