Education, gender, and functional transitions among Indonesian elderly

Consistent and robust associations between education and health have been found for older adults in developed countries, with effects generally being stronger for men than for women. Tests of the association in developing countries are still limited, existing results are inconsistent, and variations...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cross-cultural gerontology 2007-09, Vol.22 (3), p.303-322
Main Authors: Kaneda, Toshiko, Zimmer, Zachary
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living
Aged
Ageing
Aging
Associations
Developing countries
Education
Educational Attainment
Educational Status
Elderly
Female
Functional analysis
Gender differentiation
Geriatric Assessment - statistics & numerical data
Health
Health inequality
Health Surveys
Humans
Indonesia
Industrialized nations
Level of education
Logistic Models
Male
Middle Aged
Older people
Sex Factors
Social support
Studies
Survey data
Surveys and Questionnaires
Time Factors
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Summary:Consistent and robust associations between education and health have been found for older adults in developed countries, with effects generally being stronger for men than for women. Tests of the association in developing countries are still limited, existing results are inconsistent, and variations by gender have not been examined. Using two waves of data (1993 and 1997) from the Indonesian Family Life Survey, this analysis examines the association between education and functional transitions over a 4-year period and investigates gender differences in the association. A review of past evidence leads us to speculate that the association may be weaker among Indonesian elderly than among elderly in developed countries, particularly for women. This is because the elderly in Indonesia have substantially lower levels of education, lower returns on education from the labor market, and weaker linkages between education and factors that are considered to more directly influence health, including health-related behaviors and receipt of social support. Our results indicate that associations between education and functional transition depend upon gender and functional status at the beginning of the study period. Specifically, education is significantly associated with functional outcome for men who were functionally healthy at baseline, but not for women or those who were functionally limited. The conclusion speculates on the possible mechanisms behind these diverse findings.
ISSN:0169-3816
1573-0719
DOI:10.1007/s10823-007-9041-7