“Working old-old”: Psychological well-being, cognitive abilities and physical health of employed and self-employed Europeans aged 75+

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent research deals with the effects of employment/self-employment of elderly on mental and physical health. However, the rising group of “old-old”, aged 75 and above, is almost missing in this research. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze psychological well-being, cognitive abilities and physical health of employed/self-employed and retired Europeans aged 75 and above (“old-old”). METHODS: We used data recently collected by Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Our final sample consisted of N = 9,884, 57.69%were female. Employed or self-employed (vs. retired) rate was 30.20%for male and 28.88%for female. Mean age of the sample was 81.07 (SD = 4.90). RESULTS: Employed/self-employed “old-old” showed significant better psychological well-being, cognitive abilities and physical health than their retired counterparts. Age of the groups did not differ. Further analysis indicated the close connection between physical health (i.e. chronic diseases, negative self-perceived health, physical inactivity and ADL number of limitations) and employment/self-employment status. CONCLUSIONS: Against the background of continuity theory of ageing future research has to focus on the growing group of “old-old” still working.