Women's Work-Family Histories and Cognitive Performance in Later Life.

Long-term exposures to the stress and stimulation of different work, parenting, and partnership combinations may influence later life cognition. This study investigated the relationship between women's work-family life histories and cognitive functioning in later life. Analyses were based on data from women in 14 European countries born between 1930 and 1957 from the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (2004-9) (n=11,908). Multichannel sequence analysis identified five distinct work-family typologies based on women's work, partnership, and childrearing statuses between ages 12 and 50. Multilevel regressions tested the association between work-family histories and later life cognition. Partnered mothers who mainly worked part-time had the best cognitive function in later life, scoring about 0.63 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.18, 1.07) points higher than mothers who worked full time on a 19-point scale. Partnered mothers who were mainly unpaid caregivers or did other unpaid activities had cognitive scores that were 1.19 (95% CI: 0.49, 1.89) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.20, 1.66) points lower than full-time working mothers. The findings are robust to adjustment for childhood advantage and educational credentials. This study provides new evidence that long-term exposures to certain social role combinations after childhood and schooling are linked to later life cognition.