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The longitudinal relation between social reserve and smaller subsequent decline in executive functioning in old age is mediated via cognitive reserve

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2019

Andreas Ihle ,
Michel Oris ,
Marie Baeriswyl ,
Sascha Zuber ,
Stéphane Cullati ,
Jürgen Maurer  and
Matthias Kliegel
Andreas Ihle*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives, Geneva, Switzerland
Michel Oris
Affiliation:
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives, Geneva, Switzerland
Marie Baeriswyl
Affiliation:
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives, Geneva, Switzerland
Sascha Zuber
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives, Geneva, Switzerland
Stéphane Cullati
Affiliation:
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives, Geneva, Switzerland Department of Community Health, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Jürgen Maurer
Affiliation:
Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives, Geneva, Switzerland Department of Economics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Matthias Kliegel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives, Geneva, Switzerland
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Andreas Ihle, CIGEV, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d’Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland. Phone: +41 22 379 83 08. E-mail: Andreas.Ihle@unige.ch.
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Abstract

Objectives:

Social reserve such as having close friends helps promoting activity engagement in old age. Activity engagement in turn contributes to the accumulation of cognitive reserve and is a key predictor for maintaining executive functioning in aging. We investigated the mediating role of leisure activity engagement in the longitudinal relation between close friends and subsequent change in executive functioning as measured through performance changes in the Trail Making Test (TMT).

Design, Setting, and Participants:

Longitudinal study with 897 older adults tested in two waves 6 years apart, analyzed using latent change score modeling.

Measurements:

TMT parts A and B, leisure activity engagement, and close friends.

Results:

A larger number of close friends in the first wave of data collection was related to a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave. A higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave significantly predicted a smaller subsequent increase in TMT completion time from the first to the second wave (i.e. a smaller decline in executive functioning). Importantly, 41.3% of the longitudinal relation between a larger number of close friends in the first wave and a smaller subsequent increase in TMT completion time (i.e. a smaller decline in executive functioning) was mediated via a higher frequency of leisure activities in the first wave.

Conclusions:

Social reserve such as having close friends may help promoting activity engagement in old age. By enhancing individuals’ cognitive reserve, this activity engagement may finally result in smaller subsequent decline in executive functioning in aging.

Keywords

Decline in executive functioningcognitive reserveleisure activitiesclose friends
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 33 , Special Issue 5: Issue Theme: Loneliness and Social Connectedness , May 2021 , pp. 461 - 467
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2019

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