COLLEGE COMPLETION AS A PROTECTIVE FACTOR FOR LATER-LIFE COGNITION: ISSUES OF SELECTION

Abstract Additional years of education is considered a modifiable protective factor against Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. However, some empirical studies have suggested that linkages between educational attainment and later life cognition are largely a function of differential selection into higher education. Our study uses data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, as one of the longest-running cohort studies in the U.S., to further probe how differential selection into higher education might influence associations between college completion and later life cognition. Using adjusted inverse probability weighting and with particular attention to adolescent IQ, we find evidence that college completion is associated with better language for both men and women at age 65, as well as with better memory for men. Examining heterogeneous treatment effects, we further find that associations between college completion and later life cognition are strongest for men who were least likely as adolescents to attend college.


Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, United States
Educational attainment is one of the strongest social determinants of adult health. However, recent studies show that it is a stronger determinant in some areas of the country than others. This study investigates geographic and life course contexts that may explain the pattern. We merge data on adults aged 50+ in the Health and Retirement Study (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014) with contextual data on their state(s) of birth and residence. We examine: (1) how the education-health association varies across regions, and (2) how childhood (e.g., poverty, compulsory schooling) and adulthood experiences (e.g., smoking, minimum wage) explain the variation. Findings reveal that the education-health association varies across regions and is more pronounced for outcomes further along in the disablement process. Poor childhood health, adult behaviors, and states' economic policies partly explain why the association varies across regions. The findings underscore the importance of geographic and life course contexts for understanding educational disparities in health.

GROWING UP ON A FARM AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN LATER LIFE
Pamela Herd 1 Sanjay Asthana, 2 and Kamil Sicinski 2 , 1. Georgetown University,Washington,District of Columbia,United States,Madison,Wisconsin,United States There is growing interest in rural disadvantage and the implications for health and well-being in later life. We examine the relationship between living in rural areas in childhood and cognitive outcomes later in life using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The WLS has prospective childhood measures of geographic status, adolescent IQ, and detailed measures of socioeconomic status, combined with later life measures of health and cognitive functioning. We find a robust relationship between rurality and lower levels of cognitive functioning, but it is explained by growing up on a farm. This study investigates the effects of childhood misfortune and adult physical activity on later-life body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. We use ordinary least squares regression to examine the impact of childhood misfortune (30 indicators), and adult physical activity (frequency and intensity) on waist circumference and BMI (kg/m²) using data from the Health and Retirement Study (N=5,732). Results emphasize that experiencing childhood misfortune is associated with a larger waist circumference and BMI in later life, while adjusting for social status and lifestyle variables. Adjusting for adult physical activity decreases the effect of childhood misfortune on waist circumference, suggesting mediation. The analysis reveals that the effects of childhood misfortune on BMI and abdominal adiposity are remediable. Although childhood misfortune is associated with larger waist circumference and BMI in later life, regular physical activity reduces the risk on both indicators of obesity.

LONGITUDINAL HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PURPOSE IN LIFE Kristin J. Homan 1 , 1. Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania, United States
Adverse childhood experiences have long-term detrimental effects on physical health. Although biological, behavioral, and social factors have been explored as intermediate mechanisms, little research has explored psychosocial factors as potential mediators. This study examined whether purpose in life longitudinally mediates the relationship between childhood adversity and two measures of adult health (self-rated health and functional limitations). Data were obtained from 3,871 participants in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. We tested a cross-lagged mediation model from childhood adversity to adult health via purpose in life, controlling for baseline measures of health and purpose in life. Good model fit was achieved indicating that childhood adversity is associated with poorer adult health through direct and mediated paths. Childhood adversity may restrict young people's search for purpose in life, and reduced purpose in life is ultimately associated with poorer subjective health and increased functional limitations. The purpose of this symposium is twofold: (1) To present innovative research linking social relationships, isolation, and well-being among older adults, and (2) To highlight new and emerging scholars in the Behavioral and Social Sciences section of GSA. The papers in this symposium examine the repercussions of numerous relationships for well-being in later life. Huo and colleagues examine the impacts of contact with close and not-close social partners on physical activity, highlighting differences by gender. Polenick and colleagues focus on perhaps the closest of relationships in later life: marriage, analyzing longitudinal associations between discordant chronic conditions and depressive symptoms among older couples. Upenieks takes an intergenerational perspective, examining the embeddedness of adult children in older adults' networks in the context of both depression onset and chronically high depressive symptomology. This paper also highlights the consequences of well-being for older adults' social isolation, and not merely the reverse. Hladek and colleagues explore the subjective side of isolation among older adults with chronic disease, noting links between loneliness and selfefficacy that may have clinical and interventional significance. Lastly, Meinertz and Gilligan explore potential gaps in service provision that may increase rural older adults' risk of isolation and abuse. Taken together, these five papers underscore the importance of various social relationships for older adults' well-being, and suggest implications for how best to promote healthy aging. As discussant, Thomas will assess the strengths and limitations of these papers, and consider the contributions these studies -and new scholars -can make to the field.

HIS AND HER EVERYDAY LIFE: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN OLDER ADULTS' SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Meng Huo, 1 Karen L. Fingerman, 1 Yee To Ng 1 , 1. The

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States
The literature links social integration to better physical health, but little research asks how contact with diverse social partners influences older adults' physical activity in a daily context. We examined this link using the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study and explored whether this link varied by gender. The sample included 175 older women and 138 older men who reported their contact with close partners (e.g., family/friend) and not-close partners (e.g., acquaintances) throughout each day across 5 days. Participants also wore Actical accelerometers to track physical activity. Multilevel models revealed significant gender differences.
Older men had reduced physical activity when having contact with close partners, whereas older women maintained physical activity during such contact. Both older men and women had increased physical activity when having contact with not-close partners, but this link was stronger for men. This study advances our understanding of gender differences in older adults' social experiences and well-being.

DISCORDANT CHRONIC CONDITIONS AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER COUPLES
Courtney A. Polenick, 1 Kira S. Birditt, 1 Angela Turkelson, 1 Benjamin Bugajski, 1 and Helen C. Kales 1 , 1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States Discordant chronic conditions (i.e., those with competing management requirements) have adverse consequences for well-being, yet little is known about their implications among couples. We evaluated how depressive symptoms are linked to discordant conditions within individuals and between spouses across an 8-year period. The U.S. sample included 1,116 middleaged and older couples from five waves (2006 -2014) of the Health and Retirement Study. Longitudinal actor-partner interdependence models controlled for age, minority status, education, depressive symptoms in the previous wave, and each partner's report of baseline marital quality and number of chronic conditions in each wave. Wives and husbands with their own discordant conditions reported higher depressive symptoms, and this association intensified over time. Over and above this link, husbands had higher depressive symptoms when there were discordant conditions between spouses. Both individual-level and couplelevel discordant chronic conditions appear to have enduring implications for depressive symptoms in middle and later life.

HOW DO MENTAL HEALTH TRANSITIONS SHAPE THE ROLE OF ADULT CHILDREN IN OLDER ADULTS' SOCIAL NETWORKS?
Laura Upenieks 1 , 1. University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, Canada This study considers the role of adult children in the core networks of older adults undergoing mental health change. Taking a multidimensional perspective of the network system, I consider (a) presence of child(ren), (b) contact with children network members, and (c) embeddedness of children within the network using longitudinal data from the United States. Parameters were estimated with generalized estimating equations from the pooled panel data. There was no evidence that mental health transitions lead to systematic forms of child reshuffling or increased contact with child ties. Children that remained in networks, however, showed increased contact with other members of the network when the parent underwent depression onset, but became less embedded when their parents had chronically high levels of depression. These patterns may have far-reaching consequences for older people and their children, which could include increased feelings of loneliness and social isolation for parent and child alike.

HIGHER COPING SELF-EFFICACY ASSOCIATED WITH LOW SELF-PERCEIVED LONELINESS IN OLDER ADULTS WITH CHRONIC DISEASE
Melissa D. Hladek, 1 Paula V. Nersesian 1 Thomas K. Cudjoe 2 Jessica M. Gill 3 and Sarah L. Szanton 1 , 1. Johns Hopkins