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Exposure to stress can have significant, negative consequences on long-term health. Among potentially modifiable targets for promoting more adaptive stress responses, executive functioning has emerged as a promising candidate. These functions may be involved in limiting excessive stress reactivity when exposed to an acute stressor, while also promoting faster recovery (i.e., return to baseline). Fewer studies have been conducted to date on the role of executive functioning in acute stress – especially with a focus on its distinct facets (e.g., inhibition, flexibility, working memory, and updating). Moreover, there is a need for research focused on potential cognitive and behavioral mediators explaining the relationship between executive functioning and stress responses. Thus, the current study sought to examine the extent to which executive functioning facets may play a beneficial role in acute stress reactivity and recovery. Furthermore, we will examine the mediational role of cognitive appraisals, repetitive negative thinking, and emotion regulation. The findings may shed light on existing cognition-stress pathways that promote more adaptive acute stress responses.

Lifespan psychological and life course sociological perspectives have long acknowledged that individual functioning is shaped by historical and socio-cultural contexts. Secular increases favoring later-born cohorts are widely documented for fluid cognitive performance and well-being (among older adults). However, little is known about secular trends in other key resources of psychosocial function such as perceptions of control and whether historical changes have occurred in young, middle-aged, and older adults alike. To examine these questions, we compared data from two independent national samples of the Midlife in the United States survey obtained 18 years apart (1995/96 vs. 2013/14) and identified case-matched cohorts (per cohort, n = 2,141, aged = 23–75 years) based on age, gender, cohort-normed education, marital status, religiosity, and two central markers of physical health, multimorbidity and functional limitations. We additionally examine the role of economic resources for cohort differences in perceived mastery and constraints. Results revealed that older adults nowadays report perceiving fewer constraints than did matched controls 18 years ago, with such positive secular trends being particularly pronounced among women and people suffering from multiple diseases (in high income population strata). In contrast, younger adults reported perceiving more constraints nowadays than those 18 years ago and also reported perceiving lower mastery nowadays, effects that were particularly strong among the less-educated. We conclude from our national US sample that secular trends generalize to central psychosocial resources across adulthood such as perceptions of control, but are not unanimously positive. We discuss possible underlying mechanisms and practical implications.

There has been an increase in research on the relationship between holidays and wellbeing in the last decade. However, only a few studies have investigated this association in seniors and the impact of holiday-related predictors of wellbeing is understudied. The aims of this study were to: 1) compare the profile of senior tourists and senior non-tourists on socio-demographic indicators, health, physical activity, and social relations, 2) compare the profile of senior tourists and senior non-tourists on wellbeing, after adjusting for control variables, and 3) examine the impact of holiday-related predictors (frequency, mean duration, frequency of physical, social, cognitive and relaxing activities, degree of perceived health benefits) on wellbeing of senior tourists, over and above the role of various relevant covariates. A sample of 4130 seniors (Mage = 68.2 years, SD = 5.8, range 60–85) filled out a questionnaire related to the last holiday, daily activities, health, and wellbeing. Results showed that senior tourists were younger, more educated, wealthier, and healthier than senior non-tourists. In addition, the levels of wellbeing were higher in senior tourists compared to senior non-tourists, after adjusting for control variables. Hierarchical regressions analyses revealed that frequent holidays, a greater frequency of social and cognitive activities, as well as the degree of perceived health benefits were associated with higher wellbeing., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Frailty is a core concept in understanding vulnerability and adjustment to stress in older adults. Adopting the perspective provided by the transactional model of stress and coping (Lazarus and Folkman in Stress, appraisal, and coping, Springer, New York, 1984), the present study examined three aspects of frailty in older adults: (1) the link between frailty and perceived stress exposure (PSE); (2) the link between frailty and stress-related symptoms (SRS); and (3) the role of frailty in the link between PSE and SRS. Participants were 2711 adults aged between 64 and 101 years who were taking part in the Swiss Vivre/Leben/Vivere study. As well as assessing frailty, we measured PSE and SRS during the 4 weeks preceding the administration of the questionnaires, together with the covariates age, sex, educational attainment, language of the canton, and type of canton (urban vs. rural). Regression analyses revealed higher levels of PSE in frail older adults than in non-frail older adults. In addition, frail older adults reported more SRS than non-frail older adults. As expected, the association between PSE and SRS differed as a function of the frailty status: The positive relation between PSE and SRS being stronger for frail older adults than for non-frail older adults. These results suggest that frailty is related to perceived discrepancy between resources and demands, and to ability to cope with PSE. Our findings have implications for interventions to help frail older adults manage stress.

Previous findings and the depressive-executive dysfunction hypothesis suggest that the established association between executive functioning and depression is accounted for by repetitive thinking. Investigating the association between executive functioning, repetitive thinking, and depressive mood, the present study empirically tested this mediational model in a sample of older adults, while focusing on both concrete and abstract repetitive thinking. This latter distinction is important given the potential protective role of concrete repetitive thinking, in contrast to the depletive effect of abstract repetitive thinking.A sample of 43 elderly volunteers, between 75 and 95 years of age, completed tests of executive functioning (the Stroop test, the Trail Making test, and the Fluency test), and questionnaires of repetitive thinking and depression.Positive correlations were observed between abstract repetitive thinking and depressive mood, and between concrete repetitive thinking and executive functioning; a negative correlation was observed between depressive mood and executive functioning. Further, mediational analysis evidenced that the relation between executive functioning and depressive mood was mediated by abstract repetitive thinking.The present data provide, for the first time, empirical support to the depressive-executive dysfunction hypothesis: the lack of executive resources would favor a mode of abstract repetitive thinking, which in turn would deplete mood. It suggests that clinical intervention targeting depression in the elderly should take into consideration repetitive thinking modes and the executive resources needed to disengage from rumination.

Subjective indicators of age add to our understanding of the aging process beyond the role of chronological age. We examined whether financial stress contributes to subjective age as rated by others and the self. The participants ( N = 228), aged 26–75, were from a Boston area satellite of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) longitudinal study. Participants reported how old they felt and how old they thought they looked, and observers assessed the participants’ age based on photographs (other-look age), at two occasions, an average of 10 years apart. Financial stress was measured at Time 1. Controlling for income, general stress, health, and attractiveness, participants who reported higher levels of financial stress were perceived as older than their actual age to a greater extent and showed larger increases in other-look age over time. We consider the results on accelerated aging of appearance with regard to their implications for interpersonal interactions and in relation to health.

Recent theoretical and empirical studies have considered higher cognitive performance as a protective factor with respect to reactivity, recovery and habituation to acute stressors. The goal of our study was to examine the individual role of inhibition, working memory, processing speed, reasoning, and category fluency in the regulation of the cortisol response to a laboratory challenge. Younger, middle-aged, and older participants (N =109, aged 22-84, M=55.90, SD=16.35) were invited to a laboratory session comprising a driving simulation and a set of cognitive tasks. At least one week in advance, baseline cognitive performance was measured using the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT). Throughout the lab session, five saliva samples were taken, which allowed for the computation of a global measure of cortisol release (area under the curve (AUC)). Cortisol AUC was regressed on the individual BTACT cognitive tests, while controlling for age, sex, education, body mass index, physical activity, and time since awakening. The results revealed that inhibition and working memory significantly accounted for the cortisol response. These associations remained significant when other factors such as smoking, caffeine consumption, and medication use were included as covariates. The contributions of reasoning and speed of processing approached significance. Our findings contribute to the emerging evidence that cognitive functioning modulates stress responses to acute stressors. The findings are discussed in the context of cognitive interventions with transfers and implications for stress processes and healthy aging.

Brain training is increasingly popular, and many believe in the efficacy of such programs without empirical evidence. We examined whether instructions promising memory improvement would influence subjective and objective cognition. Participants (n = 145; age: M = 50.64) were randomly assigned to a memory improvement or memory task condition. Participants completed demographic and perceived control over cognition measures, in addition to cognitive tasks and subjective cognition items for 7 days. Participants in the improvement condition reported significantly greater memory increases than those in the memory task condition. This effect was moderated by perceived control over cognition; participants in the improvement condition with high control beliefs were significantly more likely than those with low control beliefs or those in the task condition to report better memory. Individuals with higher control beliefs may be more susceptible to the claims of brain training programs, which is significant given that such programs are increasingly popular and commercially available.

Subjective age is a reliable marker of aging processes beyond chronological age. Feeling older that actual age is associated with poorer health and increased mortality. Using the national longitudinal MIDUS data (waves 2 and 3), the goal of this study was to examine whether subjective age accounted for specific health behaviors, such as vigorous physical activity, social engagement, seeing health professionals, and medication use. An additional outcome was control beliefs, a prominent predictor of healthy aging. At baseline, MIDUS 2 participants (N=3,398, aged 34–84, M=55.34, SD=12.09) estimated what age they felt most of the time. Subjective age was operationalized as the proportional discrepancy between felt and chronological age. The outcomes were MIDUS 2 health behaviors and control beliefs as well as their MIDUS 3 levels adjusted for baseline. Cross-sectionally, irrespective of sex, education, physical health, negative affect, and chronological age, feeling older was significantly associated with lower frequency of physical activities, higher likelihood of seeking social support, fewer hours of volunteering, and lower control beliefs. Additional results indicated that physical activity and control beliefs mediated the association between subjective age and physical health. Longitudinally, subjective age significantly predicted MIDUS 3 physical activity, control beliefs, and number of medical visits, while adjusting for their MIDUS 2 levels. Feeling older was associated with lower physical activity, lower control beliefs, and an increased number of medical visits about 10 years later. Thus, subjective age emerges as an important source of variance to be considered when examining predictors of lifestyle choices and designing interventions.

Some key aspects of cognitive performance begin to decline in middle age. Emerging evidence indicates midlife cognitive functioning may hold clues about cognitive impairment and neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. The Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study provides an opportunity to explore antecedents and consequences of cognitive health. Cognitive performance was measured with the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT). Psychosocial and behavioral factors identified as protective for cognitive functioning are considered. These findings provide evidence of factors that can reduce or delay cognitive declines and attenuate social disparities in cognitive aging. The relationship between cognition and physical health is also considered. Cognitive abilities are examined as a resource with implications for subjective age and resilience in the face of adversity and challenge (e.g., stress). Next steps include charting trajectories of cognitive aging and identifying patterns and mechanisms that lead to optimal functioning in later life.

Objectives:A substantial body of research has documented age-related declines in cognitive abilities among adults over 60, yet there is much less known about changes in cognitive abilities during midlife. The goal was to examine longitudinal changes in multiple cognitive domains from early midlife through old age in a large national sample, the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study.Methods:The Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT) was administered on two occasions (MIDUS 2, MIDUS 3), an average of 9 years apart. At MIDUS 3, those with the cognitive assessment (N=2518) ranged in age from 42 to 92 years (M=64.30;SD=11.20) and had a mean education of 14.68 years (SD=2.63). The BTACT includes assessment of key aging-sensitive cognitive domains: immediate and delayed free recall, number series, category fluency, backward digit span, processing speed, and reaction time for attention switching and inhibitory control, which comprise two factors: episodic memory and executive functioning.Results:As predicted, all cognitive subtests and factors showed very small but significant declines over 9 years, with differences in the timing and extent of change. Processing speed showed the earliest and steepest decrements. Those with higher educational attainment scored better on all tests except reaction time. Men had better executive functioning and women performed better on episodic memory.Conclusions:Examining cognitive changes in midlife provides opportunities for early detection of cognitive impairments and possibilities for preventative interventions. (JINS, 2018,24, 805–820)

The concept of control in the social and behavioral sciences derives mainly from theories of motivation. Early work on control was largely descriptive, with an emphasis on individual differences in perceived control. This essay first reviews the foundational research on the development of control beliefs and their relationship to achievement and health outcomes. Next, the article summarizes more recent cutting-edge research, which has examined trajectories of longitudinal change and the processes and mechanisms that link control beliefs with outcomes. Studies have shown that control beliefs can be a resilience factor that buffers the effects of stress and moderates social class differences in health and longevity. Suggestions for future research directions include a focus on short-term, within-person variability and intraindividual change processes, cultural variations in control beliefs, and the antecedents of control. The article concludes by considering some of the possible limits of a high sense of control as well as interventions to optimize control, and the policy implications of control beliefs. Future research will benefit from a biopsychosocial approach in order to understand how control beliefs develop and get under the skin to affect health and well-being. Keywords: control beliefs; adult development; aging; health

Little is known about subjective assessments of memory abilities and decline among middle-aged adults or their association with objective memory performance in the general population. In this study we examined self-ratings of memory ability and change in relation to episodic memory performance in two national samples of middle-aged and older adults from the Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS II in 2005-06) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; every two years from 2002 to 2012). MIDUS (Study 1) participants (N=3,581) rated their memory compared to others their age and to themselves five years ago; HRS (Study 2) participants (N=14,821) rated their current memory and their memory compared to two years ago, with up to six occasions of longitudinal data over ten years. In both studies, episodic memory performance was the total number of words recalled in immediate and delayed conditions. When controlling for demographic and health correlates, self-ratings of memory abilities, but not subjective change, were related to performance. We examined accuracy by comparing subjective and objective memory ability and change. More than one third of the participants across the studies had self-assessments that were inaccurate relative to their actual level of performance and change, and accuracy differed as a function of demographic and health factors. Further understanding of self-awareness of memory abilities and change beginning in midlife may be useful for identifying early warning signs of decline, with implications regarding policies and practice for early detection and treatment of cognitive impairment.

There is evidence that more recent birth cohorts show better cognitive performance than earlier ones. Our goal was to use data from two representative samples in the MIDUS national study in order to examine possible sources of cohort differences for multiple cognitive tests on the BTACT (Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone). Two samples of the same age range were tested, on average, 8 years apart. The first sample (N = 3,929; age range: 32 to 76, M = 54.38, SD =11.02) was assessed between 2004 and 2006 (participants born between 1928 and 1974). Participants from the second sample (N = 2,512, age range 32 to 76, M = 54.48, SD =12.71) were tested between 2010 and 2014 (born between 1934 and 1982). Consistent with past research, significant cohort differences were obtained using a time-lag design on the majority of the BTACT tests. In addition, our results revealed stronger cohort effects in older age groups. Older individuals from the more recent birth cohorts showed better cognitive performance than those of the same age from the earlier cohorts. On average, the more recent cohorts were also characterized by higher levels of education, better functional and self-rated health, and also by a greater frequency of physical and cognitive activity. We will consider the role of increases in health-promoting behaviors such as an active and engaged lifestyle in addressing the mechanisms involved in cohort shifts in cognitive performance.

Work and retirement are complex processes with important implications for emotional, physical, and cognitive health. Studies tapping into the relationship between work, retirement and health often use different perspectives aiming at measuring similar outcomes. While some studies investigate these relationships from the perspective of the worker/retiree, other studies focus on organizational level predictors, or suggest that national policy has an imminent effect on workers’ and retirees’ health. Our goal is to allow a better understanding of the interplay between work, retirement and the three facets of health (that is – physical, emotional and cognitive), studied from varied perspectives: macro/national policy level, meso/organizational level, and micro/individual level. This symposium integrates four presentations followed by a discussion. Starting with a macro-meso perspective, Sarah Vickerstaff will present her work examining how employers manage their employees’ health, and how recent national policy affects employees’ health-related behaviors. From a meso-micro perspective, Florian Kunz and colleagues will present their findings regarding the effects of organizational age diversity and subjective age on employees’ psychological health. Focusing on the individual-micro level, Grotz and Adam will present their work about the effect of retirement and adjustment processes on cognitive health, and Segel-Karpas and Agrigoroaei will discuss the effect of work to family spillover on physical health and the moderating role of personality. Hannes Zacher, who is well known for his work on older workers and the transition to retirement, will discuss the different presentations offering his broader perspective on the issues of work, retirement, and health.

This study investigated the relationship between childhood misfortune and 10-year change in health and whether this relationship was mediated by the quality of social relations. We used data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) national longitudinal study, 1995-1996 (Time 1) and 2005-2006 (Time 2). Childhood misfortune was measured at Time 1 using indicators of financial strain, family structure, and abuse. Self-rated physical and mental health indicators were obtained at both occasions. The measure of quality of social relations was based on items relative to social support and social strain from spouse, friends, and family at Time 1. Mediational models showed that a higher level of childhood misfortune was associated with low-quality family relations which in turn tend to account for change in mental health. These findings suggest that childhood misfortune is associated with the quality of social relations, which in turn explain individual changes in mental health in adulthood.

Objective: Both higher levels of educational attainment and a strong sense of control over one’s life independently predict better health and longevity. Evidence also suggests that these 2 factors may combine in multiplicative ways to influence subjective reports of health. Method: In the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) national sample (N = 6,135; age = 25 to 75 years), we tested whether stronger beliefs of control over one’s life would moderate the effect of education on 14-year mortality risk. Results: Proportional hazards modeling indicated that both current levels of education and control beliefs were associated with lower risk of dying, over and above childhood socioeconomic level. In addition, there was a significant interaction between education and control beliefs. Among those low in education, higher control beliefs were associated with a decreased mortality risk. However, at greater levels of education, control beliefs were not associated with mortality risk. This effect remained after adjusting for potential confounding variables, including health behaviors, depressed affect, and general health (chronic illnesses, functional limitations, and self-rated health). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the importance of individual perceptions of control in buffering the mortality risk associated with educational disadvantage.

We provide evidence for multidirectionality, variability, and plasticity in the nature and direction of change in physical health, cognitive functioning, and well-being during the middle years of the life course. The picture of well-being in midlife based on longitudinal data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study is a more positive one than portrayed in previous cross-sectional studies. We present middle age as a pivotal period in the life course in terms of balancing growth and decline, linking earlier and later periods of life, and bridging younger and older generations. We highlight the role of protective factors and multisystem resilience in mitigating declines. Those in middle age play a central role in the lives of those who are younger and older at home, in the workplace, and in society at large. Thus, a focus on promoting health and well-being in middle age can have a far-reaching impact.

We considered the functional role of control beliefs for cognitive performance by focusing on patterns of stability across multiple trials increasing in level of difficulty. We assessed 56 adults aged 18–88 on working memory tasks. We examined stability vs. lability (intraindividual variability, IIV) in control beliefs and the relationships with anxiety, distraction, and performance. Age was positively associated with IIV in control and performance, and IIV increased with task difficulty. Those maintaining stable control beliefs had better performance and showed less anxiety and distraction. Those with lower stability and less control showed steeper declines in performance and increases in distraction. The findings suggest that stability of control beliefs may serve a protective function in the context of cognitively challenging tasks.

Objectives: Lifespan research long acknowledged that individual functioning is shaped by historical and socio-cultural contexts. However, little is known about secular trends in perceptions of control. Methods: We compared data from independent national samples of the Midlife in the United States survey obtained 18 years apart (1995/96 vs. 2013/14) and identified case-matched cohorts (n per cohort=2,141, aged=23–75). We additionally examine the role of economic resources for cohort differences in perceived mastery and constraints. Results: Older adults nowadays report perceiving fewer constraints than did matched controls 18 years ago, with secular trends being particularly pronounced among women and people suffering from multiple diseases. Contrary, younger adults reported perceiving more constraints nowadays than those 18 years ago and also reported perceiving lower mastery nowadays. Discussion: We conclude that secular trends generalize to central psychosocial resources across adulthood such as perceptions of control but are not unanimously positive and discuss possible underlying mechanisms.

The aim of this research is to test the psychometric properties of the Questionnaire d’auto-efficacite mnesique (QAEM), the French version of the Memory Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (MSEQ). Reliability and validity of the MSEQ. Dev. Psychol. 25 (1989) 701–713, a scale based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory. After reviewing previous research into memory self-efficacy (MSE), we present a validation study for the QAEM, conducted on a sample of 288 older adults. The QAEM was found to show comparable reliability, sensitivity and construct validity to the MSEQ. The QAEM scores correlated with other metamemory variables and, weakly, with episodic memory performances.

Balancing between the work and family demands is psychologically demanding, and the transfer of negative affect and worries from work to home was found to harm workers’ health and well-being. We used data from two waves of the Midlife in the US national longitudinal study (N=3411) to examine whether work-to-family spillover has negative consequences in terms of 10-year change in physical health, and whether this association is moderated by the Big 5 personality traits. As expected, spillover was significantly associated with residual change in health, operationalized as the number of chronic conditions. Moreover, the negative consequences on health were higher for those with higher levels of Conscientiousness and Agreeableness. In contrast, higher levels of Openness to Experience reduce the effects of spillover on health. The results are discussed with regard to the individual differences in terms of abilities to cope with work to family spillover.

We examined older and younger adults’ accuracy judging the health and competence of faces. Accuracy differed significantly from chance and varied with face age but not rater age. Health ratings were more accurate for older than younger faces, with the reverse for competence ratings. Accuracy was greater for low attractive younger faces, but not for low attractive older faces. Greater accuracy judging older faces’ health was paralleled by greater validity of attractiveness and looking older as predictors of their health. Greater accuracy judging younger faces’ competence was paralleled by greater validity of attractiveness and a positive expression as predictors of their competence. Although the ability to recognize variations in health and cognitive ability is preserved in older adulthood, the effects of face age on accuracy and the different effects of attractiveness across face age may alter social interactions across the life span.

Assessment of cognitive functioning is an important component of telephone surveys of health. Previous cognitive telephone batteries have been limited in scope with a primary focus on dementia screening. The Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone (BTACT) assesses multiple dimensions central for effective functioning across adulthood: episodic memory, working memory, reasoning, verbal fluency, and executive function. The BTACT is the first instrument that includes measures of processing speed, reaction time, and task-switching/inhibitory control for use over the telephone. We administered the battery to a national sample ( N = 4,268), age 32 to 84 years, from the study of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) and examined age, education, and sex differences; reliability; and factor structure. We found good evidence for construct validity with a subsample tested in person. Implications of the findings are considered for efficient neuropsychological assessment and monitoring changes in cognitive aging, for clinical and research applications by telephone or in person.

Cortisol responses are typically more pronounced under low controllability conditions, yet little is known about the role of individual differences. This study examined whether cortisol response to a situation with low controllability differs as a function of preexisting control beliefs and age. We manipulated level of controllability using a driving simulator. Control beliefs were assessed prior to the lab session. Salivary cortisol was measured before and after the driving simulation. Participants were 152 adults aged 22–84 from a Boston area sample. In comparison to the normal controllability condition, those in the low controllability condition reported less perceived control over driving, supporting the effectiveness of the manipulation. In the low controllability condition those with higher control beliefs showed a greater cortisol response than those with low control beliefs. Older adults showed a greater cortisol response than younger adults during the challenge. Implications of acute cortisol responses for performance outcomes are discussed.

International audience; Short-term and working memory (WM) capacities are subject to change with ageing, both in normal older adults and in patients with degenerative or non-degenerative neurological disease. Few normative data are available for comparisons of short-term and WM capacities in the verbal, spatial and visual domains. To provide researchers and clinicians with a set of standardised tasks that assess short-term and WM using verbal and visuospatial materials, and to present normative data for that set of tasks. The present study compiled normative French data for three short-term memory tasks (verbal, visual and spatial simple span tasks) and two WM tasks (verbal and spatial complex span tasks) obtained from 445 healthy older adults aged between 55 and 85 years. Our data reveal main effects of age, education level and gender on older adults' short-term and WM performances. Equation-based normalisation can therefore be used to take these factors into account. The results provide a set of cut-off scores for five standardised tasks that can be used to determine the presence of short-term or WM impairment in older adults.

Low perceived control is considered a risk factor for poor cognitive functioning, but the mechanisms are unclear. The goal of the present study was to analyze anxiety and task interference as sequential mediators of the association between control beliefs and episodic memory. Cognitive-specific control beliefs were assessed prior to the lab session. State anxiety was assessed in the lab, followed by a word list recall task. The frequency of intrusive thoughts during the memory task was reported by the participants as a measure of task interference after the completion of the cognitive testing. The results for 152 participants from the ages of 22 to 84 years supported the predicted three-path mediation model. Lower levels of control beliefs were associated with higher state anxiety, which in turn affected episodic memory performance by increasing the likelihood of task interference, with age, sex, and verbal abilities as covariates. The implications of the results for developing interventions to improve memory performance are considered.

This study examined the joint protective contribution of psychosocial and behavioral factors to cognitive functioning and 10-year change, beyond the influence of sociodemographic factors, physical risk factors, health status, and engagement in cognitive activities. Participants were from the National Study of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), ages 32-84 at Time 2, and a subsample, the Boston Longitudinal Study (BOLOS), ages 34-84 at Time 2. We computed a composite protective measure including control beliefs, quality of social support, and physical exercise variables at two occasions, 9-10 years apart. Cognition was assessed at Time 2 in MIDUS and at both occasions in BOLOS. Multiple regressions were used for analysis. In MIDUS, the more of the protective factors, the better the cognitive performance, and the protective composite moderated education differences in memory. In BOLOS, the Time 1 composite predicted change in reasoning abilities, with a greater protective effect for those with lower education. A combination of modifiable psychosocial and behavioral factors has both concurrent and long-term protective effects on cognition in adulthood. The results are promising in that educational disparities in memory and reasoning were reduced, suggesting possible interventions to protect against cognitive declines.

Publisher Summary Adults and those in later life with a high sense of control appear better off on many indicators of health and well-being. However, those who have a lower sense of control may be at increased risk for a wide range of negative behavioral, affective, and functional outcomes, including higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, use of fewer health protective behaviors and compensatory memory strategies (internal or external memory aids), and have poorer health and memory functioning. The apparent decline of the sense of control associated with aging is of concern especially given the adaptive value of maintaining beliefs in one's control over outcomes. This chapter presents a wealth of information about control beliefs, but there is much to explore before to fully understand the dynamic processes involved in changes and the linkages with outcomes. Sense of control is a promising dimension because it is amenable to change unlike more traditional stable personality traits. This can potentially lead researchers in the direction of new interventions to promote optimal aging.

OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that frequent participation in cognitive activities can moderate the effects of limited education on cognitive functioning. DESIGN: A national study of adult development and aging, Midlife in the United States, with assessments conducted at the second wave of measurement in 2004-2006. SETTING: Assessments were made over the telephone (cognitive measures) and in a mail questionnaire (demographic variables, measures of cognitive and physical activity, and self-rated health). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3,343 men and women between the ages of 32 and 84 with a mean age of 55.99 years. MEASUREMENTS: The dependent variables were Episodic Memory (Immediate and Delayed Word List Recall) and Executive Functioning (Category Fluency, Backward Digit Span, Backward Counting Speed, Reasoning, and Attention Switching Speed). The independent variables were years of education and frequency of cognitive activity (reading, writing, doing word games or puzzles, and attending lectures). The covariates were age, sex, self-rated health, income, and frequency of physical activity. RESULTS: The two cognitive measures were regressed on education, cognitive activity frequency, and their interaction, while controlling for the covariates. Education and cognitive activity were significantly correlated with both cognitive abilities. The interaction of education and cognitive activity was significant for episodic memory but not for executive functioning. CONCLUSION: Those with lower education had lower cognitive functioning, but this was qualified by level of cognitive activity. For those with lower education, engaging frequently in cognitive activities showed significant compensatory benefits for episodic memory, which has promise for reducing social disparities in cognitive aging.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have examined physical risk factors in relation to functional health, but less work has focused on the protective role of psychological and social factors. We examined the individual and joint protective contribution of control beliefs, social support and physical exercise to changes in functional health, beyond the influence of health status and physical risk factors in middle-aged and older adults. Given that functional health typically declines throughout adulthood, it is important to identify modifiable factors that can be implemented to maintain functioning, improve quality of life, and reduce disability. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a national longitudinal study, Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), with assessments in 1995-1996 and 2004-2006, and 3,626 community-residing adults, aged 32 to 84, were included in the analyses. Functional health (Physical Functioning subscale of the SF-36) and protective factors were measured at both occasions. While controlling for socio-demographic, health status, and physical risk factors (large waist circumference, smoking, and alcohol or drug problems), a composite of the three protective variables (control beliefs, social support, and physical exercise) at Time 1 was significantly related to functional health change. The more of these factors at Time 1, the better the health maintenance over 10 years. Among middle-aged and older adults, declines in health were significantly reduced with an increased number of protective factors. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Age-related declines in health were reduced among those with more protective factors up to a decade earlier in life. Modifiable psychological, social, and physical protective factors, individually and in the aggregate, are associated with maintenance of functional health, beyond the damaging effects of physical risk factors. The results are encouraging for the prospect of developing interventions to promote functional health and for reducing public health expenditures for physical disability in later life.