A Life Course Pinch Point: The Impact of Combining Multigenerational Caregiving and Paid Work on Health in Later Life

预期寿命的延长、领取国家养老金年龄的提高和妇女劳动参与率的提高意味着老年人正在摆脱依赖的形象，而是积极参与劳动力市场和家庭。尽管人们期望老年人在不同的社会和经济领域发挥越来越重要的作用，但老年人承担多重角色的后果尚未得到充分认识。在人口老龄化时代，促进老年人的健康和福祉是许多国家关注的政策问题。了解老年人将多代照护与有偿工作结合起来的方式，对家庭和劳工政策都有意义。之前调查多重角色影响的研究主要集中在年轻父母和中年人身上，而很少关注那些可能在继续工作的同时照顾孙子孙女、年迈的父母和配偶的老年人。此外，大多数相关研究都是在西方国家的背景下进行的。中国在老年人的社会义务、社会护理设施和公共就业政策方面都是独一无二的。然而，对中国的研究大多忽略了在不同人生阶段扮演不同角色的动态性。该项目将采用性别化的生命历程视角，探讨老年人如何平衡工作和家庭责任及其对健康的长期影响。还将调查地区差异和性别差异，以丰富理解。此外，将对中英两国进行比较分析，以进一步探讨社会、文化和政策背景在有偿就业、退休和无偿护理方面的作用。具体的研究问题如下：老年人的工作和照顾轨迹与工作时间和顺序以及一生中照顾状态的关系是什么？不同的工作和护理轨迹与老年人的健康和福祉之间有什么关系？这些关系是由代际交换（包括财务、工具和情感转移）介导的吗？性别如何影响中英两国老年人的护理、就业和健康状况？中英两国在这些关系中是否存在空间不平等（如城乡差异、省域差异）？本研究将使用两个丰富的纵向数据集：中国健康与退休纵向研究（CHARLS）和英国老龄化纵向研究（ELSA）。这项研究将首先通过考虑工作的时间和顺序以及一生中照顾的状态来确定多重角色轨迹的模式。区域差异将通过使用多层模型以更细致的方式进行调查。此外，还将研究有偿工作、多代人照料和晚年健康之间的联系，以便对健康老龄化有更深入的了解。不同的统计技术，包括两阶段潜在类分析，路径分析和多重imputation将被用于提供具体的经验证据。这个博士项目将有助于相关学术领域的知识，包括人口健康、人口统计学和经济学。除了学术领域之外，这项研究的目的是使更广泛的受众受益——雇主、政策制定者、老年人及其家庭，可能会促进有关医疗保健、老年人护理、儿童保育、就业和养老金的循证政策制定。它还旨在改善老年人的健康和福祉，并减少老龄化的潜在个人和社会成本。本研究中对地理差异的考察将为决策者提供有关有效分配卫生资源的见解。

Increasing life expectancy, rising state pension age and women's increased labour participation mean that older adults are shedding the image of dependency and instead actively taking part in both labour market and family. Although older adults are expected to play increasingly important roles in different social and economic spheres, the consequences of shouldering multiple roles for older adults haven't been fully understood. In the era of population ageing, it is a policy concern to promote the health and wellbeing of the elderly in many countries. Understanding the ways in which older people combine multigenerational caregiving with paid work is relevant for both family and labour policy. Previous research investigating the effect of multiple roles, focus on young parents and people in their mid-age, yet less attention has been given to older generation who might take care of their grandchildren, older parents and spouses whilst continuing employment. Moreover, most relevant research has been done in the context of western countries. China is unique regarding its social obligations of older people, social care facilities, and public policy on employment. However, research on China mostly ignores the dynamic nature of performing various roles in different life stages. Adopting a gendered life course perspective, this project will explore how older adults balance work and family responsibilities, and its long-term implications on health. Regional disparity and gender difference will also be investigated to enrich understanding. Additionally, a comparative analysis between China and UK will be conducted to further explore the roles of social, cultural and policy contexts regarding paid employment, retirement and unpaid caregiving. The specific research questions are as follows:What are the patterns of the work and caregiving trajectories of older people in relation to timing and order of work and care status over the life course? What are the relationships between different work and care trajectories and the health and wellbeing of older people?Are these relationships mediated by the intergenerational exchanges (including financial, instrumental and emotional transfers)?How does gender influence the caregiving and employment and the health outcomes of older people in China and the UK? Are there spatial inequalities (e.g., rural-urban divide, provincial variation) in these relationships within China and the UK?This research will be made possible by using two rich longitudinal datasets: China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). The research will first identify the patterns of multiple-roles trajectories by taking into account timing and order of work and caregiving status over the life course. The regional disparity will be investigated in a more nuanced way by using multilevel modelling. Furthermore, the pathways linking the paid work, multigenerational caregiving and the health in later life will also be examined to obtain a more in-depth understanding of healthy ageing. Different statistical techniques, including Two-stage Latent Class Analysis, path analysis and multiple imputation will be applied to provide concrete empirical evidence.This proposed PhD project will contribute to the knowledge of related academic fields, including population health, demography and economics. In addition to the academic sphere, the research aims to benefit a wider audience - employers, policy makers, and older people and their families, possibly prompting evidence-based policy making regarding healthcare, elderly care, childcare, employment and pensions. It also aims at improving the health and wellbeing of older people and reducing the potentially individual and societal cost of ageing. The examination of geographical variation in this study will provide insights for policy makers regarding the effective allocation of health resources.