Determinants of paid work among older Brazilians using structural equation modeling: Evidence from the ELSI-Brazil study

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a conceptual model and to explore direct and indirect associations between paid work and life-course factors in a representative national sample of the Brazilian population 50 years and older. The analysis was based on 8,903 participants in the baseline of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil). The exposure variables were sociodemographic, health, work, and social interaction variables. Based on a structural equation model, paid work showed total association with lifetime social status in women (standardized coefficient - SC = 0.489) and direct association with capacity for work in men (SC = 0.527). For women alone, an indirect and negative association was observed with lifetime intense physical effort at work, via retirement (SC = -0.156). Men with paid work were more prone to social participation, measured by belonging to groups or associations (SC = 0.209). Among women, this participation was through interaction with family and friends (SC = 0.047), via capacity for work. For both men and women, lifetime health status showed an indirect and positive association (SC = 0.298 men; SC = 0.142 women) with paid work, via capacity for work. All the abovementioned factors showed a significant association with paid work. The study's results showed that participation in the work market occurs by different mechanisms for men and women, principally considering the factors related to work and social interaction.