scholarly journals What Drives the Development of Social Inequality Over the Life Course? The German TwinLife Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 659-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Hahn ◽  
Juliana Gottschling ◽  
Wiebke Bleidorn ◽  
Christian Kandler ◽  
Marion Spengler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Family Study ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Social Mechanisms ◽  
Genetic Origin ◽  
Adolescence And Young Adulthood ◽  
Twin Families ◽  
The Life Course

The German twin family study ‘TwinLife’ was designed to enhance our understanding of the development of social inequalities over the life course. The interdisciplinary project investigates mechanisms of social inequalities across the lifespan by taking into account psychological as well as social mechanisms, and their genetic origin as well as the interaction and covariation between these factors. Main characteristics of the study are: (1) a multidimensional perspective on social inequalities, (2) the assessment of developmental trajectories in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood in a longitudinal design by using (3) a combination of a multi-cohort cross-sequential and an extended twin family design, while (4) capturing a large variation of behavioral and environmental factors in a representative sample of about 4,000 German twin families. In the present article, we first introduce the theoretical and empirical background of the TwinLife study, and second, describe the design, content, and implementation of TwinLife. Since the data will be made available as scientific use file, we also illustrate research possibilities provided by this project to the scientific community.

Violent Criminal Behavior Over the Life Course: A Review of the Longitudinal and Comparative Research

1993 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Laub ◽  
Janet L. Lauritsen
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Violent Behavior ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Violent Criminal ◽  
The Life Course

In this paper we review the existing longitudinal research on violent criminal behavior. Although interested in comparative research on this topic, we found that virtually all of the longitudinal studies comprised individuals from Western societies. The primary issue we examine concerns the extent to which there are universal patterns of violent behavior over the life course. Based on the available evidence, our best guess is that universal patterns do not exist It cannot be answered definitively, however, to what extent sociocultural variations in violence reflect differences in opportunity structures or differences in developmental trajectories and transitions over the life course. In order to address these issues, specific recommendations for future research, both within countries and cross-nationally, are presented and discussed.

scholarly journals Retirement as a lens for socioeconomic differences in Cognition and well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie König ◽  
Magnus Lindwall ◽  
Georg Henning ◽  
Boo Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work Role ◽  
Socioeconomic Differences ◽  
Health Aging ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Life Course

This study conceptualizes retirement as a lens with regard to patterns of social inequality across the life course. It investigates if socioeconomic differences in well-being and cognitive performance differ between older workers and retirees, using data from the HEARTS (Health, Aging and Retire- ment Transitions in Sweden) study. The results provide evidence for retirement as a positive lenswith regard to cognition, following the ‘use it or lose it’ hypothesis. We also find evidence for retire- ment as a negative lens with regard to well-being, supporting the cumulative (dis-)advantages theory.We test different aspects of socioeconomic status, that is, education, income, occupationalgroup, and subjective work aspects and find the strongest effects for education. Hence, this studycontributes with an understanding of mechanisms behind social inequalities over the life-course by using retirement and the loss of the work role as a marker for potential change

scholarly journals Sarcopenic Obesity in Africa: A Call for Diagnostic Methods and Appropriate Interventions

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy E. Mendham ◽  
Lillemor Lundin-Olsson ◽  
Julia H. Goedecke ◽  
Lisa K. Micklesfield ◽  
Dirk L. Christensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Musculoskeletal Diseases ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Sarcopenic Obesity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Diagnostic Criterion

This perspective aims to highlight the lack of current knowledge on sarcopenic obesity in Africa and to call for diagnostic methods and appropriate interventions. Sarcopenic obesity has been defined as obesity that occurs in combination with low muscle mass and function, which is typically evident in older adults. However, there has been no clear consensus on population-specific diagnostic criterion, which includes both gold-standard measures that can be used in a more advanced health care system, and surrogate measures that can be used in low-income settings with limited resources and funding. Importantly, low and middle-income countries (LMICs) across Africa are in an ongoing state of economic and social transition, which has contributed to an increase in the aging population, alongside the added burden of poverty, obesity, and associated co-morbidities. It is anticipated that alongside the increased prevalence of obesity, these countries will further experience an increase in age-related musculoskeletal diseases such as sarcopenia. The developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) approach will allow clinicians and researchers to consider developmental trajectories, and the influence of the environment, for targeting high-risk individuals and communities for treatment and/or prevention-based interventions that are implemented throughout all stages of the life course. Once a valid and reliable diagnostic criterion is developed, we can firstly assess the prevalence and burden of sarcopenic obesity in LMICs in Africa, and secondly, develop appropriate and sustainable interventions that target improved dietary and physical activity behaviors throughout the life course.

Trajectories of Criminal Behavior Across the Life Course

2018 ◽  
pp. 96-125
Author(s):  
Julien Morizot
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Criminal Career ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Individual Change ◽  
The Life Course

This chapter provides an overview of developmental-typological theories of criminal behavior best known by criminologists. These theories aim to explain heterogeneity in intra-individual change in criminal behavior across the life course by postulating developmental trajectories differing in terms of onset, variety and frequency of offending, criminal career duration, and period of desistance. The chapter outlines the most popular statistical methods for modeling developmental trajectories. It also summarizes the empirical findings from available developmental trajectory research. Overall, available longitudinal studies tend to support only some postulates of developmental-typological theories. This chapter thus proposes a number of directions for future research and provides some concluding insights.

Social inequalities and mental health

2018 ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Ruth Bell ◽  
Michael Marmot
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Developmental Outcomes ◽  
Life Chances ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

This chapter discusses evidence linking social inequalities, across social, economic, and environmental dimensions to inequalities in mental health. A framework for thinking about the lifetime causes of inequalities in mental health is presented and used to discuss how experiences and conditions affect mental health across the life course. The chapter focuses particularly on factors that affect child development because of the importance of child developmental outcomes for future mental and physical health, and on life chances. Finally, the need for more attention to be focused on addressing the causes of social inequalities in mental health through multiple types of policies and interventions is discussed.

Beyond Successful Aging 2.0: Inequalities, Ageism, and the Case for Normalizing Old Ages

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Calasanti ◽  
Neal King
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Personal Choice ◽  
Age Relations ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract This article reviews challenges to Rowe and Kahn’s Successful Aging (SA) framework, particularly those that focus on the ways social inequalities, including ageism, stratify age groups and affect possibilities for SA. We then assess the authors’ replies to these critiques. We find that SA 2.0 maintains a naturalization of outcomes of age relations, and retains both its focus on personal choice and its indifference to inequalities. We advocate a paradigm shift that recasts the problems of aging in three distinct ways: (i) avoids treating old age as a problem; (ii) avoids treating medical and other maladies as results of aging; and (iii) treats the problems of old age as results of age relations instead. By focusing on age relations, this paradigm goes beyond calls to examine inequalities over the life course, and seeks to normalize old ages, valuing both different modes of aging and old age itself.

scholarly journals The German Twin Family Panel (TwinLife)

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 540-547
Author(s):  
Bastian Mönkediek ◽  
Volker Lang ◽  
Lena Weigel ◽  
Myriam A. Baum ◽  
Eike F. Eifler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Twin Studies ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Report Cards ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Twin Families ◽  
The Life Course

AbstractThe German Twin Family Panel (TwinLife) is a German longitudinal study of monozygotic and dizygotic same-sex twin pairs and their families that was designed to investigate the development of social inequalities over the life course. The study covers an observation period from approximately 2014 to 2023. The target population of the sample are reared-together twins of four different age cohorts that were born in 2009/2010 (cohort 1), in 2003/2004 (cohort 2), in 1997/1998 (cohort 3) and between 1990 and 1993 (cohort 4). In the first wave, the study included data on 4097 twin families. Families were recruited in all parts of Germany so that the sample comprises the whole range of the educational, occupational and income structure. As of 2019, two face-to-face, at-home interviews and two telephone interviews have been conducted. Data from the first home and telephone interviews are already available free of charge as a scientific use-file from the GESIS data archive. This report aims to provide an overview of the study sample and design as well as constructs that are unique in TwinLife in comparison with previous twin studies — such as an assessment of cognitive abilities or information based on the children’s medical records and report cards. In addition, major findings based on the data already released are displayed, and future directions of the study are presented and discussed.

scholarly journals Framework for understanding health inequalities over the life course: the embodiment dynamic and biological mechanisms of exogenous and endogenous origin

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2021-216430
Author(s):  
Michelle Kelly-Irving ◽  
Cyrille Delpierre
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Dynamic Framework ◽  
The Past ◽  
Genetic Essentialism ◽  
The Life Course

Understanding how structural, social and psychosocial factors come to affect our health resulting in health inequalities is more relevant now than ever as trends in mortality gaps between rich and poor appear to have widened over the past decades. To move beyond description, we need to hypothesise about how structural and social factors may cause health outcomes. In this paper, we examine the construction of health over the life course through the lens of influential theoretical work. Based on concepts developed by scholars from different disciplines, we propose a novel framework for research on social-to-biological processes which may be important contributors to health inequalities. We define two broad sets of mechanisms that may help understand how socially structured exposures become embodied: mechanisms of exogenous and endogenous origin. We describe the embodiment dynamic framework, its uses and how it may be combined with an intersectional approach to examine how intermeshed oppressions affect social exposures which may be expressed biologically. We explain the usefulness of this framework as a tool for carrying out research and providing scientific evidence to challenge genetic essentialism, often used to dismiss social inequalities in health.

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