Interrupted education and functional limitations among the People’s Republic of China (PRC) cohorts

Objective: This study explored how interrupted education during the Cultural Revolution affects functional limitations in later life. Methods: Data came from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2011–2018. Three cohorts were included: the People’s Republic of China (PRC) cohort (born from 1945 to 1954), the pre-PRC cohort (born from 1910 to 1944) and the late-PRC cohort (born from 1955 to 1964). A logit model was used to examine the association between family background and policy-related interrupted education. Mixed-effects negative binomial regression models with random intercepts were applied to estimate the impacts on functional limitations. All analyses were stratified by cohort, and slope differences were tested. Results: The PRC cohort had a higher proportion of policy-related interrupted education and a lower proportion of college education compared to the pre-PRC and late-PRC cohorts. Higher educational attainment was associated with lower levels of functional limitations in later life across all cohorts. Policy-related interrupted education was associated with higher levels of functional limitations for the PRC cohort. Parental Communist Party membership was not associated with lower odds of policy-related interrupted education, but was associated with higher levels of functional limitations for the PRC cohort (IRR=1.125, p<0.05). Conclusion: The Cultural Revolution had different impacts on educational attainment and later-life functional limitations across cohorts. The PRC cohort experienced the most negative long-term impacts of disrupted education.