title: The Effects of Life Events and Socioeconomic Position in Childhood and Adulthood on Successful Aging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Building on social stress theory, this study has 2 aims. First, we aim to estimate the effects of stressful life events in childhood and adulthood on Successful Aging (SA). Second, we examine how unequal exposure to such life events between individuals with different socioeconomic position (SEP) contributes to socioeconomic inequalities in SA.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used 16-year longitudinal data from 2,185 respondents aged 55-85 years in 1992 in the Dutch nationally representative Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Measurement of SA was based on earlier work, in which we integrated trajectories in 9 indicators of functioning into an index of SA. Using path analysis, we investigated direct and indirect effects of parental and adulthood SEP as well as of self-reported childhood and adulthood life events on SA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Almost all included life events had negative direct effects on SA. Parental SEP had no direct effect on SA, whereas adulthood SEP had. Higher Parental SEP increased the likelihood of parental problems and parental death in childhood, resulting in negative indirect effects on SA. Higher adulthood SEP had both positive and negative indirect effects on SA, through increasing the likelihood of divorce and unemployment, but decreasing the likelihood of occupational disability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SEP and particular stressful life events are largely, but not entirely independent predictors of SA. We found that high and low SEP may increase exposure to particular events that negatively affect SA. Findings suggest that low (childhood) SEP and stressful life events are interrelated factors that may limit individual opportunities to age successfully.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Almar A L
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Social Research-NOVA, Centre for Welfare and Labour Research, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Marja J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Aartsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dorly J H
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Deeg
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martijn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huisman
mesh_terms: D000069586:Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D012923:Social Class; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Inequalities; Life course; Path analysis; Stress; Trajectories of functioning