Protective effect of education against midlife mental health struggle waning for Americans

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/937783

 

 News Release 16-Dec-2021
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Arizona State University

 

Middle-aged adults in the United States today experience worse mental health than older generations of Americans and also their European and Asian peers.

To understand what is happening with middle-aged American adults, a research team led by Arizona State University scientists compared middle age across different cultures and periods of time. The study examined how physical and mental health in midlife changed over time and in different countries. American adults currently in their 40s, 50s and early 60s have more symptoms of depression and worse memory recall than older Americans did when they were the same age. This pattern was found in Australian middle-aged adults but not in those living in Germany, South Korea or Mexico. Years of education was associated with better mental health in midlife, but the strength of this buffering effect has waned for Americans currently in their 40s, 50s and 60s relative to older American generations and to middle-aged adults in Australia, Germany, South Korea and Mexico.

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 The physical health of adults in their 40s and early 50s improved over time in all five countries included in the study. American adults born in the 1950s and 1960s have been healthier in midlife than people born in the 1930s and 1940s were when they were in their 40s and 50s. In the US, this health improvement dissipates by the late 50s and early 60s.

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In general, education protects people from experiencing symptoms of depression or having memory difficulties later in life. But, college-educated American adults born in the 1950s and 1960s reported worse memory recall than their older, also college-educated, peers. This pattern did not exist in any of the other studied countries.

“While the future of American middle-aged adults might not look that bright, we can look to other countries to see what works for overall success in midlife,” Infurna said. “Other countries have more accessible health care systems and social safety nets like paid family leave, subsidized childcare, and paid work and vacation leave. These differences can help support adults in midlife, who are often juggling working, parenting and caregiving, and suggest ways the US can make things better.”

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