Gendered Earnings Trajectories and Health Disparities at Midlife: Evidence from the NLSY79 Cohort

• In Event: Medical Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 7. The Life Course and Health I

Abstract

Abstract
Gender has long been recognized as a key determinant of health disparities, yet few studies have depicted the life-course constraints leading to these disparities over time. This study adopts a life course perspective to examine whether women’s health disadvantages stem from early experiences in the labor market. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), this study applies Group-Based Trajectory Model (GBTM) to depict distinct types of income trajectories since individuals’ entry into the labor market at ages 25 until their exit at ages 49. Preliminary results suggest that women are more likely to get into low-status or downward trend income trajectories compared to men, which in turn leads to worse health outcomes at midlife. Results from KHB (Karlson–Holm–Breen) analysis further suggest that gender differences in income trajectories significantly mediate physical health inequality and partially mediate mental health inequality. These results provide an empirical evidence that in contrast to physical health, women’s worse mental health at midlife point to the importance of gendered processes beyond long-term earnings dynamics over their life course.
Keywords: Income, Gender, Health, Life course, Group-based trajectory model

Authors

• Mingyue Ma, Purdue University

• Hui Liu, Purdue University