%0 Journal Article %J The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %D 2022 %T Examining Racial Disparities in Historical Change of Mental and Physical Health Across Midlife and Old Age in the US %A Staben, Omar %A Frank J Infurna %A Margie E Lachman %A Denis Gerstorf %K Adult Development and Aging %K Cohort Effects %K Mental and Physical Health %K Multilevel Modeling %K Racial Disparities %X Objective: Examine whether racial disparities are narrowing or widening with historical time among US middle-aged and older adults, and test the extent to which educational attainment moderates racial disparities over historical time. Method: Multilevel models were applied to longitudinal data on middle-aged (ages 40-65) and older adults (ages 66 and older) from the Health and Retirement Study. Historical change was indexed as cohort or birth year. The outcomes of focus were depressive symptoms, episodic memory, health conditions, functional limitations, and self-rated health. Results: Results revealed a differential pattern of racial disparities in historical change between midlife and old age. Across midlife and old age, on average, Blacks and Hispanics reported poorer levels of mental and physical health, compared to Whites. In midlife, racial disparities narrowed with historical time; later-born cohorts of Hispanics but not Whites reported fewer depressive symptoms than their earlier-born peers. Likewise, historical improvements in health were stronger among Hispanics and Blacks than Whites. Conversely, in old age, later-born cohorts across race consistently showed historical improvements in each of the outcomes examined. Regarding educational attainment, we observed little consistent evidence that health-promoting effects of educational attainment would differ across race and cohort. Examining questions about heterogeneity, results revealed that in midlife and old age there was greater heterogeneity between race across each of the outcomes. Discussion: Our discussion elaborates on reasons behind the documented racial differences in historical changes among US middle-aged and older adults, and how the protective role of education is changing over time. %B The Journals of Gerontology, Series B %V 77 %P 1978-1989 %G eng %N 11 %R 10.1093/geronb/gbab232 %0 Journal Article %J American Psychologist %D 2021 %T Historical Change in Midlife Health, Well-Being, and Despair: Cross-Cultural and Socioeconomic Comparisons %A Frank J Infurna %A Staben, Omar %A Margie E Lachman %A Denis Gerstorf %K adult development %K culture change %K KLoSA %K MHAS %K socioeconomic differences %X Recent empirical evidence has documented that US middle-aged adults today are reporting lower mental and physical health than same-aged peers several decades ago. Individuals who attained fewer years of education have been most vulnerable to these historical changes. One overarching question is whether this phenomenon is confined to the US or whether it is transpiring across other high-income and upper-middle-income nations. To examine this question, we use nationally representative longitudinal panel data from five nations across different continents and cultural backgrounds (US, Australia, Germany, South Korea, and Mexico). Results revealed historical improvements in physical health for people in their 40s and early 50s across all five nations. Conversely, the direction of historical change in mental health vastly differed across nations. Later-born cohorts of US middle-aged adults exhibit worsening mental health and cognition. Australian middle-aged adults also experienced worsening mental health with historical time. In contrast, historical improvements for mental health were observed in Germany, South Korea, and Mexico. For US middle-aged adults, the protective effect of education diminished in later-born cohorts. Consistent across the other nations, individuals with fewer years of education were most vulnerable to historical declines or benefitted the least from historical improvements. We discuss potential reasons underlying similarities and differences between the US and other nations in these historical trends and consider the role of education. %B American Psychologist %V 76 %P 870-887 %G eng %N 6 %R 10.1037/amp0000817