Work-family trajectories and later-life health in China
Chen, Jianji (Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics)
Vidal, Sergi (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Sociologia)
Spijker, Jeroen (Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics)

Date:	2026
Abstract:	The academic recognition that work-family roles are relevant determinants of health over the life course requires more empirical evidence from contexts in the Global South, such as China, where rapid social changes and widening health inequalities among the older population coexist. This research aims to explore the associations between combined work-family trajectories and health outcomes among Chinese older adults from life course and gender perspectives. Using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this study used sequence and cluster analysis on individuals' work-family trajectories from age 16-50 among those born between 1935 and 1964. Multivariate linear regressions were then utilized to assess associations between work-family trajectories and health outcomes (chronic diseases and depressive symptoms). Results show that distinctive life course paths underlie health inequalities at older ages, with varying effects on men and women. Individuals following work-family trajectories characterized by protective roles and transitions-such as employment in non-agricultural occupations and enduring marriages-experience better health outcomes in later life. Conversely, trajectories involving disadvantageous roles, including employment in agricultural occupations, economic inactivity, higher fertility, and unmarried childbearing, are associated with poorer health. Notably, health variations across work-family trajectories are greater for women than men, and women face worse health outcomes than men, though this gender disparity narrows with employment in non-agricultural occupations.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2023-152779OB-I00 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación RTI-2018-097664-A-100
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Gender ; Health ; Life course ; Marriage ; Parenthood ; Work
Published in:	Advances in Life Course Research, Vol. 68 (2026) , art. 100740, ISSN 1879-6974

DOI: 10.1016/j.alcr.2026.100740
PMID: 41864087

12 p, 4.5 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Social and Legal Sciences > Centre for Demographic Studies (CED-CERCA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles