Childhood socioeconomic position, adulthood employment trajectories, and later life functional limitations in Chile

Abstract

Relying on a life course perspective, we explored the association between childhood socioeconomic position (SEP), adulthood employment trajectories, and their interactions, with different domains of functional limitations among older people in Chile. We used data from a face-to-face, comprehensive and representative life history survey of older people (N = 802), and weighted bivariate, multivariate, and longitudinal quantitative methods. As a way to address potential problems of reverse causality, we adjust multivariate analyses by lifetime health indicators. Our results show that low childhood SEP and non-standard adulthood employment trajectories characterized by part-time work negatively affect later life functional limitations. The increased risk among people with low childhood SEP is higher if they follow a "part-time employment trajectory" in adulthood. In the conclusion, we emphasize that analyzing life course determinants of functional limitations serves to inform and help design strategies to reduce dependency in later life and promote healthy aging.