Socio-economic status (SES)

Socio-economic status

LASA filenames:
LASAz004 / LASMB004
LASA016
LASA017, LASAB217
LASA019

Contact: Martijn Huisman

Background
Education, occupation, and income are often referred to as the three most important indicators of Socio-Economic Status (SES). Socio-economic status affects the quality of life of older adults. It is known that in almost all countries, those with low SES have worse health and higher mortality rates than older adults with higher SES1). Those with higher education and income also report higher general well-being and life satisfaction2). It has been shown that not only adulthood SES, but also SES of one’s parents may affect physical, mental and cognitive well-being in older age3). Additionally, older adults with low SES tend to be less socially active within society4) .  As a result, low-SES older adults form a risk group when it comes to health care as well as social integration.

LASA includes measures of each of the three indicators of SES. For education†, information on respondents’ own educational attainment, education of father and mother, and of respondents’ partner was obtained. For occupation†, LASA includes questions about employment, occupational class, prestige and other work characteristics, and (anticipation of future) retirement. For income†, information on net monthly household income is available, as well as income satisfaction, income decline and expectations, and on the sources of income.

† For Education in relation to Social Participation, see Theme Social: Social Participation
For Occupation,  see Theme Work: Work (employment) and retirement
For Income, see Theme Work: Income and wealth

Measurement instruments in LASA

Education

Questionnaires
LASAz004 (baseline: LASA-B, -2B, -3B) / LASMB004 (main interview, in Dutch)

Variable information
LASAz004 (baseline: LASA-B, -2B, -3B) / LASMB004
(pdf)

Occupation

Questionnaires
LASAB016 / LASAC016 / LASAD016 / LASAE016 / LAS2B016 / LASAF016 / LASAG016 / LASAH016 / LAS3B016 / LASMB016 / LASAI016 / LASAJ016 / LASAK016 (main interview, in Dutch)

Variable information
LASAB016 / LASAC016 / LASAD016 / LASAE016 / LAS2B016 / LASAF016 / LASAG016 / LASAH016 / LAS3B016 / LASMB016 / LASAI016 / LASAJ016 / LASAK016 (MB not available yet)
(pdf)

Income

Questionnaires

LASAB017 / LASAC017 / LASAD017 / LASAE017 / LAS2B017 / LASAF017 / LASAG017 / LASAH017 / LAS3B017 / LASMB017 / LASAI017 / LASAJ017 / LASAK017  (main interview, in Dutch)

Variable information
LASAB017 / LASAC017 / LASAD017 / LASAE017 / LAS2B017 / LASAF017 / LASAG017 / LASAH017 / LAS3B017 / LASMB017 / LASAI017 / LASAJ017 / LASAK017;
LASAB217 (income specification)
(pdf)

Income decline and evaluation

Questionnaires
LASAB019 / LASAC019 / LASAD019 / LASAE019 / LAS2B019 / LASAF019 / LASAG019 / LASAH019 / LAS3B019 / LASMB019 / LASAI019 / LASAJ019 / LASAK019  (main interview, in Dutch)

Variable information
LASAB019 / LASAC019 / LASAD019 / LASAE019 / LAS2B019 / LASAF019 / LASAG019 / LASAH019 / LAS3B019 / LASMB019 / LASAI019 / LASAJ019 / LASAK019
(pdf)

Availability of information per wave ¹

¹ More information about the LASA data collection waves is available here.
² Information is available from LSN/NESTOR study
³ Available upon request

* 2B=baseline second cohort;
3B=baseline third cohort;
MB=migrants: baseline first cohort (MB016 not available yet)

Ma=data collected in main interview

Previous use in LASA
Socio-economic status has been linked with several aspects of psychical, cognitive, emotional and social functioning. Within the domain of physical functioning, it has been related to functional limitations, disability and other health. It has also been related to depression, and with informal and formal care use has been documented. Cohort-differences in socio-economic status differences in health have also been studied.

• Broese van Groenou, M., K. Glaser, C. Tomassini en T. Jacobs (2006). Socio-economic status differences in older people’s use of informal and formal help: a comparison of four European countries. Ageing & Society, 26:5, 745-766.
• Broese van Groenou, M.I. (2004). Sociaal-economische verschillen in de hulpverlening van kinderen aan hun oude ouders. Sociale Wetenschappen, 47, 49-64.
• Broese van Groenou, M.I., Deeg, D.J.H., & Penninx, B.W.J.H. (2003). Income differentials in functional disability in old age: Relative risks of onset, recovery, decline, attrition and mortality. Aging, Clinical and Experimental Research, 15, 174-183.
• Deeg, D.J.H., & Thomése, G.C.F. (2005). Discrepancies between personal income and neighbourhood status: Effects on physical and mental health. European Journal of Ageing, 2, 98-108.
• Geerlings, S.W., Pot, A.M., Twisk, J.W.R., & Deeg, D.J.H. (2005). Predicting transitions in the use of informal and professional care by older adults. Ageing & Society, 25, 111-130.
• Hoogendijk, E., Broese van Groenou, M., van Tilburg, T., Deeg, D. (2008). Educational differences in functional limitations: comparisons of 55-65-year-olds in the Netherlands in 1992 and 2002. International Journal of Public Health, 53, 281-289.
• Huisman, M., Kunst, A., Deeg, D., Grigoletto, F., Nusselder, W., Mackenbach, J. (2005). Educational inequalities in the prevalence and incidence of disability in Italy and the Netherlands were observed. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 58, 1058-1065.
• Koster, A. (2005). Socioeconomic health differences in old age: unraveling the role of biomedical, behavioral, and psychosocial factors. PhD Dissertation, Universiteit Maastricht.
• Koster, A., Bosma, H., Broese van Groenou, M.I., Kempen, G.I.J.M., Penninx, B.W.J.H., van Eijk, J.Th.M., & Deeg, D.J.H. (2006). Explanations of socioeconomic differences in changes in physical function in older adults: Results from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. BMC Public Health, 6: 244, 1-12.
• Koster, A., Bosma, H., Kempen, G.I.J.M., Penninx, B.W.J.H., Beekman, A.T.F, Deeg, D.J.H., & van Eijk, J.Th.M. (2006). Socioeconomic differences in incident depression in older adults: The role of psychosocial factors, physical health status, and behavioral factors. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 61, 619-627.
• Nikula, S., Jylhä, M., Bardage, C., Deeg, D.J.H., Gindin, J., Minicuci, N., Pluijm, S.M.F., & Rodriguez-Laso, A. (2003). Are IADLs comparable across countries? Sociodemographic associates of harmonized IADL measures. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 15, 451-459.

References

1. Mackenbach, J.P., Stirbu, I., Roskam, A.R., Schaap, M.M., Menvielle, G.,  Leinsalu, M. & Kunst, A.E. (2008). Socioeconomic inequalities in health in 22 European countries. The New England Journal of Medicine, 358, 2468-2481.
2. Pinquart, M. & Sörensen, S. (2000). Influences of socioeconomic status, social network, and competence on subjective well-being in later life: A meta-analysis. Psychology and Aging, 15:2, 187-224.
3. Luo, Y. & Waite, L.J. (2005). The impact of childhood and adult SES on physical, mental, and cognitive well-being in later life. Journal of Gerontology – Social Sciences, 2, S93-S101.
4. Musick, M.A., Herzog, R. & House, J.S. (1999). Volunteering and mortality among older adults: Findings from a national sample. Journal of Gerontology – Social Sciences, 3, S173-S180.

Date of last update: August, 2017