LAUSR

A growing body of research suggests that adult child educational attainment benefits older parents' cognitive outcomes via financial (e.g. direct monetary transfers) and non-financial (e.g. psychosocial) mechanisms. Quasi-experimental studies are needed to circumvent confounding bias. No such quasi-experimental studies have been completed in higher income countries, where financial transfers from adult children to aging parents are rare. Using data on 8159 adults > 50 years in the Survey for Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (2004/2005), we leveraged changes in compulsory schooling laws as quasi-experiments. Each year of increased schooling among respondents' oldest children was associated with better verbal fluency β: 0.07, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.15) scores; overall associations with verbal memory scores were null, with mixed and imprecise evidence of association in models stratified by parent gender. We also evaluated associations with psychosocial outcomes, as potentially important mechanisms. Increased schooling among respondents' oldest children was associated with higher quality of life scores and fewer depressive symptoms. Our findings present modest albeit inconsistent evidence that increases in schooling may have an 'upward' influence on older parents' cognitive performance even in settings where financial transfers from adult children to their parents are uncommon. Associations with parents' psychosocial outcomes were more robust.