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Intro -- Title Page -- Contents -- Preface by Iain Dale -- Preface by Jacqui Smith -- Facts and Figures -- Parliamentary Firsts for Women -- Candy Atherton - Linda Gilroy -- Charlotte Atkins - Kathryn Stanczyszyn -- Jackie Ballard - Carolyn Quinn -- Anne Begg - Anne McGuire -- Liz Blackman - Freya Pratty -- Hazel Blears - Jane Merrick -- Helen Clark - Linda McDougall -- Karen Buck - Scarlett MccGwire -- Christine Butler - Natalie Bennett -- Lynda Clark - Ann McKechin -- Yvette Cooper - Jess Asato -- Ann Cryer - Linda McDougall -- Claire Curtis-Thomas - Florence Boyle -- Valerie Davey - Karin Smyth -- Janet Dean - Ruth Smeeth -- Julia Drown - Fiona Mactaggart -- Maria Eagle - Katie French -- Louise Ellman - Charlotte Henry -- Lorna Fitzsimons - Rachel Cashman -- Caroline Flint - Julia Langdon -- Barbara Follett - Julia Langdon -- Linda Gilroy - Celia Ellacott -- Eileen Gordon - Linda Perham -- Jane Griffiths - Katie French -- Patricia Hewitt - Julia Langdon -- Beverley Hughes - Faten Hussein -- Joan Humble - Cat Smith -- Melanie Johnson - Mims Davies -- Fiona Jones - Linda McDougall -- Helen Jones - Jacqueline Fletcher -- Jenny Jones - Gisela Stuart -- Sally Keeble - Natasa Pantelic -- Ann Keen - Julia Langdon -- Ruth Kelly - Terry Stiastny -- Oona King - Ayesha Hazarika -- Tess Kingham - Sue Hayman -- Julie Kirkbride - Edwina Currie -- Eleanor Laing - Angela Browning -- Jackie Lawrence - Rachel Reeves -- Fiona Mactaggart - Celia Ellacott -- Judy Mallaber - Celia Ellacott -- Theresa May - Tracey Crouch -- Christine McCafferty -Holly Lynch -- Siobhain McDonagh - Mary Honeyball -- Anne McGuire - Kirsten Muat -- Anne McIntosh - Vivian Widgery -- Shona McIsaac - Shona Woodfine -- Rosemary McKenna - Anne McGuire -- Gillian Merron - Claire Ward -- Laura Moffatt - Caroline Flint -- Margaret Moran - Linda Gilroy -- Julie Morgan - Fiona Mactaggart.

The present study reports occupational aspirations for a group of 7, 10 and 15 year old children. The sample consisted of 262 girls and 187 boys from government schools located in three Sydney suburbs, which were rated 4 on a seven‐point suburban status scale. The overwhelming majority of both boys and girls aspired to occupations which either could be considered to be stereotypic of, or are dominated by, their own sex. Boys said they wanted to become tradesmen, members of the armed forces and the police force, and members of the male dominated professions. Girls said they wanted to become nurses, teachers and secretaries and, especially 7 and 10 year olds, to marry and have children. Only two boys and 24 girls chose occupations that could be considered to be stereotypic of the opposite sex. These sex differences were as evident in the responses of 7 year olds as they were in the responses of 15 year olds. However, the occupational choices of 7 and 10 year olds, in contrast to those of 15 year olds, were more descriptive, contained a higher fantasy element, and in general represented a higher level of aspiration. Despite the current concern about sex roles children's employment aspirations, therefore, still appear to be very much restricted by traditional gender stereotypes. The finding that 7 year olds' responses reflected these stereotypes as much as those of the older children, especially highlights the need for efforts to broaden children's career awareness and aspirations to be made at a much earlier age than is currently the case.

Objectives. While valid assessment of subjective well-being (SWB) is at the forefront of ageing research, literature increasingly reports cross-cultural measurement invariance on scales designed to capture SWB. This study examines measurement properties of well-established SWB scales and their comparability between older Hispanics and Whites in the US. Methods. We examined measurement properties of the satisfaction with life (SWL), purpose in life (PIL)and positive affect (PAF) scales using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multigroup hierarchical CFA on three subgroups in the Health and Retirement Study: non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics interviewed in English and Hispanics interviewed in Spanish. We also examined acquiescence response style in measurement invariance testing. Results. SWL was the only scale that provided reasonable measurement invariance. However, it lacked comparability in its measurement validity, with much lower validity for Hispanics than Whites. Measurement invariance was observed lower across all models when fitted on the data restricted to respondents with a tendency to acquiesce than the counterpart. Discussion. Our analysis offers evidence that the traditional measurement invariance test is not effective under the presence of response style for measurement instruments that use the Likert-type response scales. Research into cross-cultural differences in conceptualization of SWB and methodology to measure SWB is likely to improve our ability to accurately understand SWB with the increasingly diverse population.

"Many large-scale surveys measure subjective well-being (SWB) through a single survey item. This paper takes advantages of response time data to explore the relation between time taken to answer a single SWB item and the reliability and validity of answers to this SWB item. We found that reliability and validity of answers to the SWB item are low for respondents aged 70 and above and for respondents who took more time to answer the item. The findings indicate that longer time spent answering the single SWB item is associated with data of lower quality, suggesting that the longer response time is probably a result of people having difficulty answering the item. This paper provides another piece of evidence that the single-SWB-item approach may not be the best way to measure subjective well-being, especially for older respondents." (author's abstract)

The anchoring vignette method is designed to improve comparisons across population groups and adjust for differential item functioning (DIF). Vignette questions are brief de­scriptions of hypothetical persons for respondents to rate. Although this method has been adopted widely in health surveys, there remain challenges. In particular, vignettes are com­plex, increasing survey time and respondent burden. Further, the assumptions underlying this method are often violated. To overcome such challenges, this paper introduces an inno­vative technique, namely image anchoring vignettes, conveying vignette information with varying health levels in images. We conducted a cross-cultural experimental study to ex­amine the performance of image and standard text vignettes in terms of response time, how well they satisfy the assumptions, and their DIF-adjusting quality using a confirmatory factor analysis. The study revealed that respondents can better differentiate the intensity levels of the three vignettes in the image vignette condition, compared to text vignettes. Response consistency assumption appears to be better satisfied for image vignettes than text vignettes. Using well-designed image vignettes greatly reduces survey time without losing the DIF-adjustment quality, indicating the potential of image vignettes to improve overall efficiencies of the anchoring vignette method. Improving vignette equivalence (i.e., minimizing different interpretations of vignettes by different groups), remains a challenge for both text and image vignettes. This study generates new insights into the design and use of image anchoring vignettes.

AbstractObjectivesFamily structure in childhood influences early brain development and cognitive performance in adulthood. Much less is known about its long-term impact on later-life cognitive functioning. We extend the two-generation family structure approach to investigate the potential contribution of living with grandparents in multigenerational households to differences in cognitive functioning at older ages.MethodsData were drawn from 9 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1998–2014) merged with newly collected childhood family history data. Five types of family structure were assessed: two-parent households, two-parent households with grandparents, single-parent households, single-parent households with grandparents, and grandparent-headed households. Growth curve models were used to estimate trajectories of cognitive functioning over time.ResultsChildhood family structure was significantly associated with level of cognitive functioning, but not to rate of cognitive decline. Relative to those from two-parent households, individuals who grew up in multigenerational households showed higher levels of cognitive functioning, including those living with a single parent and grandparents. Those who lived with a single parent alone were the most disadvantaged. The effects of these multigenerational households persisted net of childhood and adulthood socioeconomic status and health outcomes.DiscussionGrandparent coresidence may cultivate a socially enriched home environment, providing resources and protection for early cognitive development that could persist throughout life. Multigenerational living arrangements are likely to increase as the contemporary population ages. More research needs to be done to understand the impact of these living arrangements on future generations' brain health and cognitive aging.

This state-of-the-art handbook will keep researchers and practitioners in gerontology abreast of the newest theories and models of ageing. With virtually all new contributors and content, this edition contains 35 chapters by the most highly respected luminaries in the field. It addresses theories and concepts built on cumulative knowledge in four disciplinary areas - biology, psychology, social sciences, and policy and practice - as well as landmark advances in trans-disciplinary science. With its explicit focus on theory, the handbook is unique in providing essential knowledge about primary explanations for ageing, spanning from cells to societies. The chapters in the third edition place a strong emphasis on the future of theory development, assessing the current state of theories and providing a roadmap for how theory can shape research, and vice versa, in years to come. Many chapters also address connections between theories and policy or practice. Each set of authors has been asked to consider how theories in their area address matters of diversity and inequalities in aging, and how theories might be revised or tested with these matters in mind. The third edition also contains a new section, "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants", which includes personal essays by senior gerontologists who share their perspectives on the history of ideas in their fields, and on their experiences with the process and prospects of developing good theory. Hallmarks of the third edition: * Highlights important gains in trans-disciplinary theories of ageing.* Emphasises the future of theory development.* Provides insights on theory development from living legends in gerontology.* Examines what human diversity and inequality mean for ageing theories.* Emphasises interconnections between theory, research, intervention, and policy.* Underscores international issues with greater representation of international authors.* Includes section introductions by the editors and associate editors that summarise theoretical developments.Key Features: * Highlights variability and diversity in aging processes, from the cellular level of biological ageing to the societal level of public policy.* Provides insights on theory development from living legends in gerontology.* Offers intergenerational, interdisciplinary, and international perspectives.*

AbstractChildhood experiences and impressions are important for individuals' health and well‐being—they often set the stage for how people approach relationships across the lifespan and how they make sense of their relational worlds. However, impressions of these experiences are likely not static and can change over time, even years after these experiences happened. The current study examined how impressions of parental relationships in childhood changed over time, and predictors of these changes, among middle‐aged and older adults followed over a 4‐year period (N = 2692; Mage = 66.67, SD = 9.15; 64.1% women). Childhood impressions of parental care were mostly stable over time, with 53.5%–65.0% of participants reporting consistent impressions. Becoming divorced/separated as an adult was associated with more negative impressions about relationships with fathers in the past. Having a mother pass away was associated with more positive impressions of mothers' caregiving when participants were children. Higher depressive symptoms at follow‐up were associated with darker perceptions of the past—more negative impressions of mothers and fathers as caregivers. The current study is one of the most comprehensive studies of late‐life changes in childhood impressions to date, suggesting future directions for studying the organization of relational experiences and recollection over time.

AbstractBackgroundPhysical activity (PA) in later life may reduce dementia risk, but little is known regarding long-term cognitive effects of PA that occurred earlier in adulthood or mechanisms underlying associations. PA patterns at different ages may independently contribute to dementia risk, which would implicate multiple critical periods for intervention. The current study tested whether retrospective reports of PA in early and mid-adulthood were independently associated with later-life longitudinal memory outcomes and whether associations were mediated by late-life cardiometabolic diseases.MethodParticipants comprised 5200 Health and Retirement Study Life History Mail Survey respondents. Latent growth curves estimated independent associations between retrospectively reported PA in early adulthood (age 18–29) and mid-adulthood (age 40–49) and 16-year episodic memory trajectories. Indirect pathways involving the maintenance of PA from early- to mid-adulthood and the influence of PA on later-life cardiometabolic diseases (hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease) were also estimated.ResultsPA in early- and mid-adulthood independently predicted higher initial memory level and slower memory decline in later life, respectively. Early-adulthood PA was indirectly associated with later-life memory level through higher mid-adulthood PA and lower rates of later-life hypertension, as well as with subsequent memory decline through higher mid-adulthood PA.ConclusionsThe current findings highlight the importance of PA throughout adulthood, such that initiating and/or maintaining exercise in early- or mid-adulthood may be protective for later-life cognitive health, and hypertension appears to represent a key mediator of these effects.