The educational, racial and gender crossovers in life satisfaction: Findings from the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine variations in life satisfaction by education, gender, and race/ethnicity over a period of eight years among middle-aged and older Americans.

METHODS: Mixed-effects models were used to analyze five waves (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014) of longitudinal data from 16,163 participants born 1890-1953 in the U.S. Health and Retirement Study.

RESULTS: Life satisfaction was higher in older adults, and the Great Recession had great impact on life satisfaction. Crossover interactions were found by gender, education, and race/ethnicity. Higher education was associated with higher life satisfaction for both genders, with stronger effects for females. Hispanics had the higher level of life satisfaction than non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans.

DISCUSSION: Longitudinal evidence revealed disparities in life satisfaction. The racial/ethnic differences in the impact of education suggest that the economic and health returns of education vary by social group. Researchers should continue to examine reasons for these disparities.