University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
École de Santé Publique, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
PLoS One. 2020 Dec 30;15(12):e0244371. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244371. eCollection 2020.
The cumulative (dis)advantage (CAD) perspective more and more is examined in a comparative way, to highlight the role of context in generating inequality over the life course. This study adds to this field of research by examining trajectories of activities of daily living (ADL) in later life by educational level in a country comparison of England and Germany, emphasizing differing institutional conditions.
Data used are the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA; 11,352 individuals) and the German subsample of the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; 5,573 individuals). Using population averaged Poisson panel regression models, 12-year trajectories of six birth cohorts are investigated, covering the age range of 50 to 90 years.
Respondents in England have a higher level of limitations at age 50, and more limited increases over age than in Germany. An educational gradient exists in both countries at age 50. Notably, the educational gradient increases for more recently born cohorts, but declines with increasing age in England, while in Germany educational differences increase for more recently born cohort only.
The current study indicates that CAD processes between educational groups are context sensitive. While England showed convergence of disparities with increasing age, in Germany no differential development was found.
累积优势（劣势）（CAD）视角越来越多地以比较的方式进行检验，以强调在整个生命历程中，背景在产生不平等方面的作用。本研究通过考察英国和德国的国家比较中，受教育程度对晚年日常生活活动（ADL）轨迹的影响，为这一研究领域做出了贡献，强调了不同的制度条件。
本研究使用的数据是英国老龄化纵向研究（ELSA；11352 人）和欧洲健康与退休调查的德国子样本（SHARE；5573 人）。使用人群平均泊松面板回归模型，对涵盖 50 至 90 岁年龄范围的六个出生队列的 12 年轨迹进行了调查。
英国的受访者在 50 岁时的限制程度更高，而且在年龄增长方面的限制增加幅度也高于德国。在这两个国家，在 50 岁时都存在受教育程度的梯度。值得注意的是，在英国，最近出生的队列的教育梯度随着年龄的增长而增加，但在德国，这种差异仅随着最近出生的队列的增加而增加。
本研究表明，教育群体之间的 CAD 过程是对环境敏感的。虽然英国的差距随着年龄的增长而趋同，但德国没有发现差异发展。
