Early-Life Education and Cognitive Aging: Does Content, Location, and Historical Context Matter?

Wednesday, November 2, 2022

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Location: 240 CC

CE: 1.5

Chair(s)

JS

Jacqui Smith, PhD, FGSA

Prof.
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Slides

Discussant(s)

Laura Zahodne, PhD

Associate Professor
Department of Psychology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Slides

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

MW

Monica Williams-Farrelly, PhD (she/her/hers)

Assistant Research Professor of Medicine
Institute for Social Research
Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Allan Nkwata, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Institute of Social Research
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
WY

Wenshan Yu, MSc

PhD Candidate
Program in Survey and Data Science, Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
KW

Katrina Walsemann, PhD

Roger C. Lipitz Chair in Health Policy and Professor
School of Public Policy
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland, United States

Life course and cognitive aging theories about the sources of subgroup and individual differences in susceptibility to cognitive impairment frequently highlight the significance of early-life education, defined in research by total years of school and highest degree. A more nuanced approach could shed light on why and for whom education matters for brain aging processes. For example, one year of school in the 1930s may not be the same as one year in the 1960s, or in different school types and states in this historical period. In addition, post- high school training and degrees differ in content. Each paper in this symposium uses early-life education history and late-life cognitive data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Speakers discuss what guided their selection of specific education content, location, contexts and analytic strategy. Williams-Farrelly asks how individuals characterized by privileged high school educational experiences in the period from 1930 to the 1960s benefited in terms of social mobility and later-life cognitive functioning. Nkwata, in contrast, focuses on early-life education experiences that potentially limit the skills acquired together with exposure to family adversity and stress. Yu utilizes sequence analysis to identify and examine the association between late-life cognition and variations in patterns of K-12 education defined by duration and order of racial/ethnic composition. Walsemann and colleagues ask if state-level differences in the timing and implementation of school desegregation policies explain Black-White disparities in the transition to cognitive impairment in the US South. The session concludes with an integrative discussion by Zahodne.

Learning Objectives:

After attending this session, participants will understand more about the role of early-life factors associated with establishing scaffolds for brain and cognitive development that are associated with differential trajectories of late-life cognitive decline and transition to cognitive impairment
After attending this session participants will know more about the valuable life history and cognitive data available in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
After attending this session, participants will have information about disparities in early-life education experiences in the US from the 1930s to the 1960s that continue to underlie contemporary trends and observations about the prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia after age 65.

Presentations:

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Socioeconomic Privilege in Childhood and Later Life Cognition
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Monica Williams-Farrelly, PhD (she/her/hers) – Indiana University
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Early-Life Educational Experiences, Toxic Stress, and Risk of Neurocognitive Impairment Among US Adults Over Age 50
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Allan K. Nkwata, PhD – University of Michigan
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Trajectories of K-12 Schools in the 1930s-1960s and Cognitive Aging: Variation by Racial Composition
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Wenshan Yu, MSc – University of Michigan
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

State-Level Desegregation Efforts in the U.S. South Post-Brown and Dementia Risk Among Black and White Older Adults
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Katrina M. Walsemann, PhD – University of Maryland