Trajectories of Health in Later Midlife: The Impact of Family and Household

Mary Elizabeth Hughes, Duke University
Linda Waite, University of Chicago

Significant heterogeneity exists in the occurrence, timing, and direction of health transitions in later life. In previous research, we identified a short term relationship between household structure and health among persons in midlife. In this paper, we examine the impact of household and family on health trajectories over an eight year period. Our analysis is organized around three questions. First, what is the patterning of health transitions and health trajectories over the eight year period? Second, how is household structure related to the health trajectories we observe? Third, what is the influence of changes in household structure on health trajectories? We base our analysis on data from Waves 1 to 4 of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). We use Markov chain regression models to analyze the health transitions and trajectories in the HRS.