Background. The transition to retirement is a significant life event that alters an individual's social status, as well as their psychological and financial well-being. Given the aging workforce, there has also been an increasing emphasis at the macro level on preventing premature retirement. From both individual and employer perspectives, it is therefore crucial to understand the factors that motivate older workers to remain active in the labor market. In this study, we aimed to address this question as part of the project “Sustainable working-life for ageing populations in the Nordic-Baltic region” (No.139986 financed by NordForsk).

Method. We utilized data from the 7th (baseline) and 9th waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). At baseline, the dataset included responses from 8160 employed individuals across 27 countries (aged 50–84 years; M=57.7, SD=4.3; 56.5% women). All predictors were measured at Wave 7 and included age, gender, retirement intentions, workplace quality, and social activity. The outcome variable, employment status (working vs. not working), was measured four years later at Wave 9. To account for the nested data structure, a mixed-effects model with random intercepts was applied.

Results. Approximately 12% of the variation in the outcome variable was attributable to country-level factors. Employment status was predicted by male gender, younger age, lack of retirement intentions, higher workplace quality, and social activity (e.g., participation in various learning activities). Moreover, age and engagement in volunteering moderated the relationship between retirement intentions and employment status.

Implications. Our findings illustrate how retirement intentions translate into actual retirement among workers aged 50+. While this transition is natural process that marks the final phase of career development, our study highlights to the role of potential boundary conditions that may either accelerate or delay its occurrence.

The dynamics between grandmothers and mothers are important regarding their parenting and grandchildren’s development. The previous literature reveals some cooperation and conflict situations between grandmothers and mothers, particularly in the early ages of grandchildren. Although a few studies focused on the frequency of dyads’ cooperation and conflict, researchers did not thoroughly dwell on the content of this issue. The current study aimed to explore grandchild-related themes that mothers and grandmothers agree or disagree with each other, as well as the themes of resolution to their disagreements. Online semi-structured interviews were conducted with forty-one Turkish grandmothers (Age_mean = 59.29, SD = 4.81) who have a 48-72-month-old grandchild. Thematic analysis was used to assess grandmothers’ answers to the agreement, disagreement and resolution questions in the interview. The results revealed two main themes in the grandmother-mother agreement. While 58.6% of the contents belong to the first theme, “care for the grandchild” (including diet, health, etc.), 41.4% of them belong to the second theme, “rearing practices for the grandchild” (including rules, values, etc.). In the grandmother-mother disagreement, two main themes were also defined. While 53.3% of the issues belong to the first theme, “care for the grandchild” (including diet, education, etc.), 46.7% of them belong to the second theme, “rearing practices for the grandchild” (including being mad at the grandchild, spoiling the grandchild, etc.). Finally, in their resolutions of disagreement, three main themes were defined. 59.1% of the resolutions belong to the first theme, “reconciliation”, 22.7% of the resolutions belong to the second theme, “disregarding other” (either mother or grandmother), and 18.2% of the resolutions belong to the third theme, “no solution” (ignorance, avoidance, etc.). The findings contribute to the related literature by developing new measures to test grandmother-mother cooperation and conflict, and grandmother-mother-grandchild relations in Turkish culture.

As the global population ages, cognitive decline has become a significant concern, particularly in the context of developmental changes over the lifespan. Research links cognitive changes to education, personality traits, and lifestyle (Stern, 2009; Luchetti et al., 2015; Valenzuela & Sachdev, 2005). Studies suggest that lifestyle mediates the relationship between education, personality traits, and cognitive abilities. It plays a key role in shaping cognitive reserve, which supports cognition in older age and slows decline (Sogaard & Ni, 2018; Dause & Kirby, 2019). This study aimed to evaluate a mediation model in which lifestyle mediates the relationship between education, personality traits, and cognitive abilities.

Data from the 7th and 8th waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) were analyzed (Börsch-Supan, 2019, 2022). The sample included 16,205 individuals aged 65–100 from 16 European countries (43.5% men). Cognitive abilities were assessed using eight tasks covering working and episodic memory, attention, and executive functions. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) was used to assess memory, while numeracy tasks assessed working memory, attention, and executive functions. A verbal fluency task further evaluated executive function. Lifestyle factors included leisure activities (e.g., volunteering, educational courses, reading, puzzles), computer and internet use, and alcohol consumption. Leisure participation was assessed by asking if participants engaged in listed activities over the past year, while self-evaluated computer skills, internet use, and alcohol consumption in the past week were also measured. Lifestyle was expected to positively contribute to cognitive abilities.

Structural equation modeling revealed that lifestyle partially mediated the relationship between education, personality traits, and cognitive abilities, highlighting its role in the ageing process as a psychological mechanism. These findings emphasize the importance of engaging in social, mental, and physical activities, and using modern technology to promote cognitive health and support cognitive development throughout the lifespan.

Objective. Aging is associated with cognitive changes that can negatively affect driving performance. Research indicates that older adults with cognitive impairments tend to demonstrate poorer driving abilities compared with those without such impairments (Aksan et al., 2015; Bennett et al., 2016). Previous studies about relationship between cognitive functions and driving competence have primarily relied on either objective or self-reported measures of driving competence. However, this study takes a novel approach by incorporating both for a more comprehensive assessment. The study aims to examine the relationship between older drivers’ cognitive functioning and driving competence in Lithuania.

Methods. 260 older drivers (mean age = 68,44; SD = 6,92) participated in this study. Driving competence was assessed using 8-item errors and 8-item lapses subscales from the 24–item Lithuanian version of DBQ (Parket et al., 1995; Stelmokienė et al., 2013) for self-assessment and Lithuanian Hazard Prediction Test (LHP₁₂) for objective performance. Cognitive functions were evaluated with 7.1 Lithuanian version of MoCA test.

Results. Results revealed no significant correlation between DBQ and LHP₁₂ scores, nor between cognitive functions and older drivers’ driving competence. However, group comparison showed significant difference in driving competence among drivers with different MoCA score. Surprisingly, drivers with lower MoCA scores demonstrated higher driving competence, both in self-assessment and objective tests.

Conclusion. These findings present a paradox: instead of poorer driving competence, older drivers with lower cognitive scores performed better – both in self-assessed and objective measures. One explanation is that such people overestimate their driving abilities due to impaired self-awareness. Alternatively, used objective test might not fully capture the specific aspects or driving that are most sensitive to cognitive decline. These findings highlight the complexity of assessing driving abilities in older drivers and the need for further research to better understand the underlying reasons.

Keywords: driving competence; older drivers; cognitive functions

Objective: Evidence identifies the benefits that occupations high in complexity have on cognition among older adults. As such, occupational complexity has been proposed as a proxy measure of cognitive reserve, but few studies test the potential moderating influence of occupational complexity on a measure of brain disease and cognition. The study aims to investigate if occupational complexity benefits cognition in later life, and if it moderates the relationship between white matter hyperintensities and cognition.

Method: Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and data from the MRI study of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at wave one and wave three (N = 346 (48% Female), Mean age: 71 years (62-80)) the study tested if three different types of occupational complexity (data, people, things) have an impact on a cognitive processing speed factor, and if complexity moderates the relationship between white matter hyperintensities and processing speed.

Results: The final SEM model was a good fit (χ2,46 = 108.110, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.938, TLI = 0.916; RMSEA = 0.058 (CI90 = 0.062, 0.061), SRMR = 0.076). Occupational complexity in data was the only complexity metric that was associated with better processing speed performance (β = -0.126, p < 0.001). White matter hyperintensities were associated with poor performance on the factor (β = 0.064, p < 0.001). However, data complexity did not moderate the relationship between white matter hyperintensities and cognitive processing speed.

Conclusion: The results indicate that jobs high in data complexity demands do have an independent effect on processing speed ability in older adulthood, but it does not moderate the relationship between white matter hyperintensities and processing speed. While further investigations are recommended, occupational complexity may have limited value as a measure of cognitive reserve.