Childhood Friendship Experiences and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life: The Mediating Roles of Adult Social Disconnectedness and Adult Loneliness

Abstract

Background and Objectives This study investigated the relationship between childhood friendships and cognitive functioning, as assessed with cognitive status and decline among adults aged 45 and older in China. We also examined the mediating effect of adult social disconnectedness and adult loneliness for this relationship. Research Design and Methods This study was based on 3 waves of data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS; 2011, 2013, 2015; N = 13,959). Cognitive functioning was assessed with episodic memory. Childhood friendship measures were taken from the 2014 life history module of the CHARLS. Two dimensions of adult social isolation, loneliness and social disconnectedness, were included as mediators. Latent growth curve modeling was utilized to test the associations between childhood friendships, adult social isolation, and cognitive functioning. Results Adverse childhood friendship experiences were found to be significantly associated with both lower initial cognitive status and the rate of decline in cognitive functioning. Our findings indicated that adult loneliness and social disconnectedness partly mediated the link between childhood friendship experiences and the initial level of cognitive functioning, but not cognitive decline later in life. Discussion and Implications The findings emphasized the enduring importance of childhood friendships for cognitive functioning later in life. Interventions that focus on improving social participation through fostering friendships in childhood may have long-term benefits for cognition later in life.

Early Child–Parent Relationship Quality and Cognitive Function in Older Rural Chinese Adults: The Mediating Role of Educational Attainment

“…These findings support the first hypothesis. In line with previous literature, the current study supported a life course perspective that childhood experiences have long-lasting implications for cognitive function (Burr et al, 2020;Chapko et al, 2017;Zahodne et al, 2019;Zhang et al, 2016Zhang et al, , 2018Zhang et al, , 2019Zhang et al, , 2020. Experiencing higher quality relationships with parents during childhood is posited to stimulate active lifestyles and positive attitudes toward education and skill development, improving coping skills when encountering stressful situations, and resulting in more motivation to engage in challenging cognitive tasks and activities.…”

“…For example, a study by Zahodne et al (2019) supported the thesis that greater childhood social support was related to better episodic memory in older Americans. Further, Burr et al (2020) found that Chinese older adults who retrospectively reported adverse friendship experiences in childhood exhibited worse baseline cognitive function and faster cognitive decline.…”

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Later Life: Exploring Rural/Urban and Gender Differences Using CHARLS

“…Similarly, childhood interactions with friends and peers might help to stimulate cognitive development, and such social skills laid foundations for adulthood social relations, therefore possibly preventing social isolation and promoting cognitive maintenance in later life. By contrast, feelings of loneliness might lead to social disconnectedness and decrease levels of cognitive functioning in later life (Burr et al, 2020; Lempinen et al, 2018). Our results echoed the life course perspective and suggested that ACEs were critical to long-term individual health development.…”

The Impact of Early Neighborhood Cohesion, and Its Mechanism, on Cognitive Function in Later Life

“…Previous work has linked childhood experiences with cognitive function in later life. For example, older adults are at a lower risk of cognitive impairment if they had better childhood friendship experiences ( 7 ). Additionally, childhood family-life happiness significantly predicts older adult cognitive functioning.…”

“…A recent study found that childhood friendship is significantly related to better cognitive function and slower cognitive decline in middle and old age ( 7 ). The cognitive reserve hypothesis postulates that participation in stimulating activities early in life can help the brain build a reserve to buffer against cognitive decline ( 14 ).…”