5 results
2 Neurocognition and Functional Status Among Ethnoculturally Diverse Older Adults: Support for the External Validity of the ADAS-Cog
- Elizabeth A Breen, Jordan T Stiver, Micah J Savin, Denise S Oleas, Alexander W Slaughter, Maral Aghvinian, Heining Cham, Monica G Rivera Mindt
-
- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 86-87
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
-
Objective:
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and dementia present major and escalating public health concerns for the U.S., especially among ethnoculturally diverse (e.g., Latinx, non-Latinx Black [NLB]) populations who represent an increasing percentage of the older adult population in the US and bear greater AD burden compared to non-Latinx Whites (NLWs). Notably, neurocognition and functional status are highly correlated in those with AD. However, little has been done to understand these associations and validate functional measures across geographically diverse, multiethnic samples. The aims of this study were to characterize the neurocognition and functional status of a large, multiethnic sample and subsequently examine any associations between neurocognition and functional status among Latinx, NLB, and NLW older adults.
Participants and Methods:This cross-sectional, retrospective study utilized archival data drawn from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). ADNI is a national, longitudinal, multi-site, observational study aiming to measure the progression of AD (see https://adni-info.org). Study measures included the: 1) Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale Cognitive subscale (ADAS-cog; 13-items), a global neurocognitive battery evaluating neurocognition in people with AD; 2) Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ; 10-item questionnaire) to assess functional status; 3) Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS; 15-item questionnaire) for depression; and 4) American National Adult Reading Test (ANART; 50-word test) for reading level. The sample included 1537 older adults who completed baseline visits for the ADNI study, 1333 of whom were NLW, 123 NLB, and 81 Latinx. The average age of the sample was 73 years, average 16 years of education, and 53% male. Compared to the NLW group, the NLB and Latinx groups were significantly younger and had a higher percentage of female participants. Compared to NLW and Latinx groups, the NLB group also had significantly fewer years of education and lower reading scores. Potential confounds (i.e., demographic variables, depression) were identified a priori based on the literature and subsequently analyzed for inclusion as covariates in the primary analyses. Analyses revealed variables were non-normally distributed, therefore Independent Samples Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman’s Correlations were computed to examine differences and correlations between ethnocultural groups.
Results:After controlling for age and education, Latinx and NLB groups had significantly higher ADAS-cog and FAQ scores than the NLW group (Hs = 9.50-21.53, ps < .05). Spearman’s partial correlations controlling for age, education, gender, and depression revealed that higher ADAS-cog scores were associated with higher FAQ scores within Latinx (p=.49, p<.001), NLB (p=.66, p<.001), and NLW (p=.60, p<.001) groups.
Conclusions:Findings indicate that neurocognition is positively associated with functional status and support the ecological and external validity of the ADAS-cog and FAQ for use with NLB and Latinx older adults, in addition to previously established work with more homogenous samples. Study strengths include the overall sample size, geographic diversity, and standardization of research approaches. Study limitations include high education level and low comorbidity rates present in the sample, limiting the generalizability of the results, in addition to the unbalanced ethnocultural groups, further emphasizing the need for increased inclusion efforts of ethnoculturally diverse older adults into brain health research studies.
12 Do the Cognitive Effects of the Immigrant Health Paradox Vary Across the Lifespan?
- Denise S Oleas, Micah J Savin, Jordan Stiver, Maral N. Aghvinian, Alexander Slaughter, Elizabeth A. Breen, Heining Cham, Sandra Talavera, Desiree Byrd, Jessica Robinson Papp, Monica Rivera Mindt
-
- Journal:
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society / Volume 29 / Issue s1 / November 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 21 December 2023, pp. 427-428
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- Export citation
-
Objective:
The Immigrant Health Paradox (IHP) suggests that immigrants have better health upon arrival in comparison to their U.S.-born Latinx counterparts, indicating that immigrants’ unique experiences may buffer against negative health outcomes, including cognition. Some studies indicate that IHP-related cognitive health benefits diminish with increased time spent in the U.S., while others suggest that this relationship may be age-dependent such that compared to migration during earlier or later life, migration during young/middle adulthood may be related to better cognition-potentially due to higher simultaneous cognitive demands associated with this age epoch (e.g., language acquisition, acculturation). However, this literature is equivocal and has methodological limitations (e.g., cognition typically assessed with cognitive screeners, lack of clinical populations) Thus, this study aimed to examine the role of age related to IHP and cognition within a well-characterized sample of HIV+ Latinx adults. It was hypothesized that compared to U.S.-born Latinx adults and those who immigrated earlier or later in life, the Latinx immigrant subgroup who migrated during young/middle adulthood would demonstrate better cognitive functioning.
Participants and Methods:This cross-sectional study included a HIV+ sample (A/=105) of 34 Latinx immigrants (Mage=45.56, SD=6.99) and 71 U.S.-born Latinx individuals (Mage=46.03, SD=7.63), who completed a comprehensive sociocultural questionnaire and cognitive battery. Demographically-adjusted average T-scores were computed for each cognitive test and domain (e.g., learning, memory). A series of Welch’s-corrected ANOVAS with post hoc Games-Howell tests for multiple comparisons were conducted to compare cognitive function across three groups: Latinx immigrants who migrated during earlier (<19 yrs) or later adulthood (>50 yrs), young/middle adulthood (20-49 yrs), and U.S.-born Latinx adults.
Results:Compared to the other Latinx subgroups, Latinx immigrants who migrated during middle adulthood performed worse in Verbal Fluency (F(2,98)=8.04, p<.001), Attention/Working Memory (f(2,96)=6.10, p<.01), Executive Function (f(2,99)=5.11, p<.01), and Processing Speed (F(2,101)=3.36, p<.05). Posthoc Games-Howell tests showed that the mean Verbal Fluency (p<.01, 95% C.I.=[-21.37, -2.66]), Attention/Working Memory (p<.05, 95% C.I.=[-16.82, -1.59]), Executive Function (p<.01, 95% C.I.=[-14.66, -2.49]) and Processing Speed (p<.05, 95% C.I.=[-13.60, -1.31]) T-scores were significantly lower in Latinx immigrants who migrated in young/middle adulthood compared to the U.S.-born Latinx sample. Further, there were no differences between the U.S.-born Latinx group compared to the Latinx immigrant group who migrated earlier or later in life (ps>.05).
Conclusions:This preliminary study is the first to examine whether the potential protective cognitive effects of the IHP vary across the lifespan among Latinx immigrants with HIV, using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Age-related IHP benefits were not observed in this study. Moreover, Latinx immigrants who migrated during young/middle adulthood had worse cognitive functioning compared to their U.S.-born Latinx counterparts and those that migrated earlier or later in life. A possible explanation for this study’s unexpected findings is that the IHP is outdated due to the current sociopolitical climate immigrants experience compared to the 1980s when the theory was developed. Future studies, with larger samples, longitudinal designs, and greater sociocultural characterization (e.g., immigration reason/s, country of origin, discrimination), are needed to better understand the role of IHP in cognition.
Long-term effects of the Family Bereavement Program on spousally bereaved parents: Grief, mental health problems, alcohol problems, and coping efficacy
- Irwin Sandler, Jenn-Yun Tein, Heining Cham, Sharlene Wolchik, Tim Ayers
-
- Journal:
- Development and Psychopathology / Volume 28 / Issue 3 / August 2016
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 18 July 2016, pp. 801-818
-
- Article
- Export citation
-
This study reports on the findings from a 6-year follow-up of a randomized trial of the Family Bereavement Program (FBP) on the outcomes for spousally bereaved parents. Spousally bereaved parents (N = 131) participated in the trial in which they were randomly assigned to receive the FBP (N = 72) or literature control (N = 59). Parents were assessed at four time points: pretest, posttest, and 11-month and 6-year follow-up. They reported on mental health problems, grief, and parenting at all four time periods. At the 6-year follow-up, parents reported on additional measures of persistent complex bereavement disorder, alcohol abuse problems, and coping efficacy. Bereaved parents in the FBP as compared to those in the literature control had lower levels of symptoms of depression, general psychiatric distress, prolonged grief, and alcohol problems, and higher coping efficacy (for mothers) at the 6-year follow-up. Multiple characteristics of the parent (e.g., gender, age, and baseline mental health problems) and of the spousal death (e.g., cause of death) were tested as moderators of program effects on each outcome, but only 3 of 45 tests of moderation were significant. Latent growth modeling found that the effects of the FBP on depression, psychiatric distress, and grief occurred immediately following program participation and were maintained over 6 years. Mediation analysis found that improvement in positive parenting partially mediated program effects to reduce depression and psychiatric distress, but had an indirect effect to higher levels of grief at the 6-year follow-up. Mediation analysis also found that improved parenting at the 6-year follow-up was partially mediated by program effects to reduce depression and that program effects to increase coping efficacy at the 6-year follow-up was partially mediated through reduced depression and grief and improved parenting. FBP reduced mental health problems, prolonged grief, and alcohol abuse, and increased coping efficacy of spousally bereaved parents 6 years later. Mediation pathways for program effects differed across outcomes at the 6-year follow-up.
Chapter four - Causal Inference and Generalization in Field Settings
- from Part one - Design and Inference Considerations
- Edited by Harry T. Reis, University of Rochester, New York, Charles M. Judd, University of Colorado Boulder
-
- Book:
- Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology
- Published online:
- 05 June 2014
- Print publication:
- 24 February 2014, pp 49-80
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
This chapter introduces the researchers to randomized and non-randomized designs that permit relatively strong causal inferences, particularly in field settings. It discusses the perspectives on the generalization of causal effects. The chapter considers some basic issues in inferring causality, initially drawing on work by Rubin and his associates in statistics and later drawing on work by Campbell and his associates in psychology. It also considers three classes of quasi-experimental designs, the regression discontinuity design, the interrupted time series design, and the nonequivalent control group design. The emphasis on designs for field research in the chapter contrasts sharply with standard practice in basic social psychology. Randomized experiments are typically considered to be the gold standard for causal inference. Some basic research in social psychology and personality now focuses on areas such as the influence of culture, major life stressors, religion, intimate relationships, and evolution of social behavior.
Contributors
-
- By John A. Bargh, Lisa Feldman Barrett, Veronica Benet-Martínez, Elliot T. Berkman, Jim Blascovich, Marilynn B. Brewer, Heining Cham, Tanya L. Chartrand, Robert B. Cialdini, William D. Crano, William A. Cunningham, Rick Dale, Jan De Houwer, Alice H. Eagly, J. Mark Eddy, Craig K. Enders, Leandre R. Fabrigar, Susan T. Fiske, Shelly L. Gable, Bertram Gawronski, Kevin J. Grimm, K. Paige Harden, Richard E. Heyman, Oliver P. John, Blair T. Johnson, Charles M. Judd, Deborah A. Kashy, David A. Kenny, Norbert L. Kerr, Nuri Kim, Jon A. Krosnick, Paul J. Lavrakas, Matthew D. Lieberman, Kristen A. Lindquist, Todd D. Little, Yu Liu, Michael F. Lorber, Michael R. Maniaci, Kerry L. Marsh, Gina L. Mazza, Gary H. McClelland, Dominique Muller, Elizabeth Levy Paluck, Karen S. Quigley, Harry T. Reis, Mijke Rhemtulla, Michael J. Richardson, Ronald D. Rogge, Alexander M. Schoemann, Eliot R. Smith, R. Scott Tindale, Eric Turkheimer, Penny S. Visser, Duane T. Wegener, Stephen G. West, Tessa V. West, Keith F. Widaman, Vincent Y. Yzerbyt
- Edited by Harry T. Reis, University of Rochester, New York, Charles M. Judd, University of Colorado Boulder
-
- Book:
- Handbook of Research Methods in Social and Personality Psychology
- Published online:
- 05 June 2014
- Print publication:
- 24 February 2014, pp vii-viii
-
- Chapter
- Export citation