Reconsidering the Relationship between Age and Financial Strain among Older Adults

• In Event: 270 - Regular Session. Life Course

Abstract

Research shows that financial strain is detrimental to the well-being of older adults, but research does not clearly indicate whether financial strain changes with age in late life. We argue that the relationship between age and financial strain is obscured by birth cohort effects, selection effects, and contrasts in the relationship across core social statuses. Growth curve analyses of a longitudinal survey of older adults show that age is positively related to financial strain, but this relationship is masked by a negative effect of birth cohort. The positive relationship between age and financial strain is substantially stronger among elders with lower levels of education and women. Selection appears to have little influence on analyses of the age-strain relationship. This research contributes to a sociological understanding of aging and health by showing that many older adults are increasingly exposed to a pernicious socioeconomic stressor as they age.

Author

• Alex E. Bierman, University of Calgary