Abstract
Assessing variation in the cognitive benefits of education: the role of workplace context in a representative cohort of older U.S. adults
Collin Mueller, PhD, Assistant Professor, UMD
Education is associated with exposure to cognitively engaging occupations that protect against dementia onset. Education is also associated with race/ethnic differences in exposure to cognitive health risks, including psychosocial stressors stemming from experiences of differential treatment in the workplace. Using the Health and Retirement Study, this project will examine how workplace cognitive engagement and experiences of differential treatment relate to cognitive trajectories in later life. This project will (1) describe workplace cognitive engagement and experiences of differential treatment among aging adults; (2) compare associations between educational attainment, workplace cognitive engagement, differential treatment, and cognitive functioning trajectories across race/ethnic groups; and (3) examine the extent to which workplace cognitive engagement and differential treatment explain the relationship between educational attainment and cognitive function trajectories across race/ethnic groups.