The Social Stratification of Aging and Mental Health: A Cumulative Advantage Perspective

To increase the understanding of the complex nature between aging and mental health, the present thesis describes a series of three studies conducted to investigate how socioeconomic status (SES) factors influences the divergence in cognitive functioning and emotional well-being throughout the lifespan, utilizing the cumulative advantage theoretical framework. Further, both tertiary education and subjective SES indicators were contrasted to investigate the underlying mechanism of the SES pathway in late adulthood, specifically through the lifetime accumulation of cognitive stimulation that is grounded in the cognitive reserve theoretical framework. The results showed that tertiary education via cognitive stimulation is a key protective factor in attenuating against age-related decline in mental health outcomes.