Racial/Ethnic Differences in Women’s Life Event Exposure Across Midlife

Abstract

Abstract Objective Stressful life events are associated with poorer physical, cognitive, and mental health. Examining life events trends across midlife illustrates normative experiences of stress in a critical life period for intervention and disease prevention. Further, there is a critical need for research with racially/ethnically diverse samples to identify differences in life event exposure, as they may relate to later health disparities. Method Annual life event reports were analyzed from 3,066 White, Black, Hispanic, Chinese, and Japanese women in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. Across ages 43–65, longitudinal trajectories were fit to annual number of life events and 9 subcategories of life events (i.e., work problems, economic problems, partner unemployment, illness/accident of loved one, caregiving, bereavement, relationship problems, family legal/police problems, and violent events that happened to the self or family). Racial/ethnic differences were examined, controlling for education. Results Number of annual life events declined with age and plateaued in later midlife. This pattern was largely consistent across types of life events, though family health and bereavement-related life events increased in later midlife. Compared to White women, Black women experienced more life events, while Chinese, Hispanic, and Japanese women experienced fewer life events. Racial/ethnic differences were amplified in specific subtypes of life events. Discussion Racial/ethnic differences in exposure to life events across midlife may contribute to racial/ethnic health disparities in later life.