Social Participation Attenuates Decline in Perceptual Speed in Old and Very Old Age.

Abstract

Does an engaged and active lifestyle in old age alleviate cognitive decline, does high cognitive functioning in old age increase the possibility of maintaining an engaged and active lifestyle, or both? The authors approach this conundrum by applying a structural equation model for testing dynamic hypotheses, the dual change score model (J. J. , to 3-occasion longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study (Time 1: n ϭ 516, age range ϭ 70 -103 years). Results reveal that within a bivariate system of perceptual speed and social participation, with age and sociobiographical status as covariates, prior scores of social participation influence subsequent changes in perceptual speed, while the opposite does not hold. Results support the hypothesis that an engaged and active lifestyle in old and very old age may alleviate decline in perceptual speed.

Well-being affects changes in perceptual speed in advanced old age: Longitudinal evidence for a dynamic link.

“…Following these routes may also help to better understand how dynamic perceptual speed-well-being associations are embedded in the complex system of biological and cultural influences that operate over a given timescale. In this context, and in line with other recent analyses of longitudinal data (e.g., Lövdén et al, 2005), our study represents an initial effort to apply dynamic models to test empirically temporal hypotheses about lead-lag relations between level and change of functioning across psychological domains.…”

“…Specifically, the measure was derived from responses to six items assessing the facets of fantasy, ideas, feelings, aesthetics, and actions (e.g., "I often try new things"). The measure of social participation represented a unit-weighted composite of social activities as mentioned in the Yesterday Interview and the number of social activities mentioned in an Activity List (for details, see Lövdén et al, 2005). From the semistructured Yesterday Interview of all activities a given participant engaged in during the day preceding the interview (Moss & Lawton, 1982), we used the total time (minutes) spent being engaged in leisure activities (e.g., attending cultural events), instrumental activities beyond personal care (e.g., banking), social activities (e.g., visiting people), and work (e.g., regular paid work).…”

“…In line with earlier longitudinal reports of BASE (e.g., Lövdén et al, 2005;T. Singer et al, 2003), no data imputation procedure was applied.…”

Sending your grandparents to university increases cognitive reserve: The Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project.

“…For example, individuals with lower occupational status have shown lower performance on measures of global cognitive function in later-life (Dartigues, 1992;Frisoni, Rozzini, Bianchetti, & Trabucchi, 1993;Jorm, Rodgers, Henderson, & Korten, 1998). Similarly, a socially engaged lifestyle in later life is associated with superior cognitive performance and a reduced rate of age-related cognitive decline (Barnes, Mendes de Leon, Wilson, & Bienias, 2004;Ertel, Glymour, & Berkman, 2008;Lövdén, Ghisletta, & Lindenberger, 2005).…”

Gender and Sexual Orientation Differences in Cognition Across Adulthood: Age Is Kinder to Women than to Men Regardless of Sexual Orientation

“…An important focus of much research in cognitive gerontology has been on the identification of possible factors associated with slower rates of decline, with some significant results (e.g., see Hawkins, Kramer, & Capaldi, 1992, on aerobic exercise; Lövdén, Ghisletta, & Lindenberger, 2005, on social participation) but also some null effects (e.g., see Rabbitt, Chetwynd, & McInnes, 2003, on intellectual ability and socio-economic status; Salthouse, Berish, & Miles, 2002, on cognitive stimulation). One factor that has so far "received little attention" (Meinz & Salthouse, 1998) is that of gender.…”