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Social participation and cognitive functioning in older adults
Author(s) -
Maria Carolien Hendrika Smits,
van Rijsselt René Johannes Theresia,
Jonker Cees,
Deeg Dorly Joan Hardy
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.930100409
Subject(s) - psychology , recall , cognition , association (psychology) , sociocultural evolution , developmental psychology , social cognition , cognitive skill , social engagement , everyday life , cognitive psychology , sociology , neuroscience , anthropology , psychotherapist , social science , political science , law
The association between aspects of social participation and components of cognitive functioning and the ability of these aspects to predict cognitive performance was studied in an age and gender stratified sample of 116 individuals aged 55‐89 years in the Netherlands. Measures of social participation included questionnaires on societal participation, sociocultural activities and media use. Cognitive functioning was measured by tests of fluid intelligence, processing speed, word learning and recall, and everyday memory. All aspects of social participation showed significant bivariate correlations with all components of cognitive functioning. Independent of age, gender, education and functional limitations, societal participation and sociocultural activities contributed significantly to the prediction of processing speed and of delayed recall. Tendencies of independent association were apparent between both societal participation and sociocultural activities and word learning. No aspect of social participation independently predicted fluid intelligence or everyday memory. The evidence suggests independent associations between social participation characterized by an organizational setting and high level of activity, and basic components of cognitive functioning, such as information‐processing speed and measures of learning and delayed recall. Further research needs to clarify the process underlying the causal relation between cognitive functioning and forms of participation.