Sense of purpose as a potential buffer between mental health and subjective cognitive decline

Abstract

Objectives: Purposeful adults may experience greater cognitive resilience because sense of purpose may help buffer against the effects of depressive symptoms and loneliness. We also evaluated whether these associations differed by race. Design: This study uses a wave of self-report data from the SPAN study of psychosocial aging. Setting: Participants come from a representative sample of older adults in St. Louis. Participants: Participants (N = 595) ages range from 65 to 78 (Mage = 71.46), with 18.3% of participants identifying as Black/African-American. Measures: Sense of purpose was assessed with the Life Engagement Test, depressive symptoms with the Beck Depression Inventory-II, loneliness with the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and subjective cognitive decline with the AD-8. Results: Correlational analyses supported predictions that sense of purpose was negatively related to subjective cognitive decline, whereas depressive symptoms and loneliness were positively related (|r|s > .30, ps < .001). For loneliness, but not depression, this association was moderated by sense of purpose (b = −0.43, p < .001). A relatively high sense of purpose attenuated associations between loneliness and subjective cognitive decline. A three-way race × purpose × loneliness interaction (b = −0.25, p = .021) revealed that the buffering effects of sense of purpose on subjective cognitive decline were stronger for Black adults. Discussion: This study provided partial support for the buffering hypothesis, showing that sense of purpose may help mitigate the cognitive decrements associated with loneliness. Future research needs to consider how purpose-promoting programs may support healthy cognitive aging, particularly among Black older adults and those who experience greater social isolation.

The benefits of a sense of purpose in life for healthier cognitive aging

“…Future research could address whether purpose in life buffers the association between loneliness and depressive symptoms, as was the case with cognitive symptoms. The findings of Pfund et al (2022) are also consistent with recent research from our group published in International Psychogeriatrics (Sutin et al, 2022b) on the role of purpose in healthier cognition. Specifically, we examined the relation between purpose and both verbal fluency and episodic memory measured with standard cognitive tasks.…”

“…The findings from Pfund et al (2022) build nicely on research recently published in International Psychogeriatrics. A review of the literature on loneliness and depression in a recent issue of International Psychogeriatrics, for example, evaluated the evidence for loneliness as a prospective predictor of depressive symptoms and clinical depression in longitudinal studies.…”

“…This consistency suggests a robust association between purpose and objective cognitive performance. The results from Pfund et al (2022) suggest that this association also extends to subjective cognition measured with the AD8.…”

“…The recent findings reported by Pfund et al (2022) point to the importance of a sense of purpose in life for healthier cognitive aging outcomes. Specifically, Pfund and colleagues report that in a diverse sample of 595 older adults, a greater sense of purpose is associated with fewer self-reported cognitive complaints as measured by the AD8, a frequently used screening tool for dementia.…”

Purpose in Life

“…Correspondingly, studies show that individuals with a number of psychiatric conditions report lower purpose in life ratings than controls. Furthermore, over time, having greater purpose in life may be protective against the development of depressive symptom (Echeverria et al, 2021), suicidal ideation (Straus et al, 2019), and subjective cognitive decline (Pfund et al, 2022). With regard to specific disorders, patients with schizophrenia report lower purpose in life than control subjects (Strauss et al, 2012); in one study, only 27% were found to have a definite purpose in life (Haq et al, 2009).…”