Memory Self-Efficacy and Community Participation

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the relationships between working memory, memory self-efficacy (MSE), and community participation among older adults. Method: 203 United States older adults (age 55+) were recruited through MTurk to complete surveys and a memory task. A multiple linear regression was used to regress MSE and community participation. Main Findings: Entering all variables into the model explained 45% of the variance in community participation (R2 = .45, Adj. R2 = .41, F(7, 141) T = 16.26, p < .001). MSE was positively related to community participation (β = .38, p < .001), as predicted. However, contrary to hypotheses, worse working memory (β = -.22, p = .001) and greater difficulty remembering/concentrating (β = .26, p < .001) predicted higher levels of community participation. Conclusions: It is reasonable to conclude that one’s beliefs about their memory ability is an important consideration when one chooses to engage in community events. Keywords: memory self-efficacy, community participation, aging, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease

Self-Efficacy and Socioeconomic Status as Impact Factors for Working Memory and Language Learning: A Review Paper

“…It seems that findings of Otsuka and Miyatani's study and of Mashinchi et al's study could complement each other [6,9]. Using bivariate correlations, a previous study examined and found that the relationship between MSE and WM was not significant (r=0.9), which contrasts sharply with the conclusions of Mashinchi et al's research [6,10]. According to the latter, WM and MSE had a noticeable positive correlation.…”