Racial/ethnic health disparities in late life are a significant concern as the U.S. aging population becomes more diverse. While studies have focused on Black-White mental and cognitive health gaps, many disparities remain unexplained. The contributors to mental and cognitive health inequalities among other minority older adults, such as Hispanics, are not well understood. Guiding by the stress process model, this dissertation examines two potential pathways: differential exposure to stressors and access to protective resources and the differential effects of these factors in contributing to mental and cognitive health disparities among minority older adults. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), three empirical studies were comprised to address research gaps. The first study investigates racial/ethnic disparities in late-life mental health, focusing on financial circumstances and social relationships. This study reveals that older Black and Latinx adults experience more depressive symptoms, partially due to their greater exposure to financial disadvantages and strained relationships, than whites. Despite receiving more relationship support than their White counterparts, Black and Latinx older adults derive less protection against depression from spousal and children’s relationship support. The second study examines the impact of everyday discrimination on cognitive health, finding that discrimination is associated with lower baseline cognitive levels and a faster decline among older adults generally. However, the effect varies across racial and ethnic groups, with older white and Black adults declining more rapidly, while no association is observed among older Latinx adults. Finally, the third study explores the structural and qualitative aspects of friendships and cognitive health, suggesting that frequency of contact and relationship strain with friends impact cognitive function across all racial, ethnic, nativity, and gender groups. However, older Black men and foreign-born Latinas experience a diminished health return of contact frequency on cognition relative to older white men. This dissertation uncovers racial/ethnic patterns of stress exposures and social relationships, illuminating the role of psychosocial factors in health disparities. It explores the complex interplay of these factors with race/ethnicity, nativity, and gender as they shape mental and cognitive health disparities among older adults. By providing population-based evidence, this research paves the way for developing interventions and programs that promote healthy mental and cognitive aging while reducing health disparities in the diverse older population.
Read
