Cognitive activity mediates the association between social activity and cognitive performance: A longitudinal study.
Open accessAbstract
Social activity is 1 aspect of an active lifestyle and some evidence indicates it is related to preserved cognitive function in older adulthood. However, the potential mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. We investigate 4 potential mediational pathways through which social activity may relate to cognitive performance. A multilevel structural equation modeling approach to mediation was used to investigate whether cognitive activity, physical activity, depressive symptoms, and vascular health conditions mediate the association between social activity and cognitive function in older adults. Using data from the Victoria Longitudinal Study, we tested 4 cognitive outcomes: fluency, episodic memory, reasoning, and vocabulary. Three important findings emerged. First, the association between social activity and all 4 domains of cognitive function was significantly mediated by cognitive activity at the within-person level. Second, we observed a significant indirect effect of social activity on all domains of cognitive function through cognitive activity at the between-person level. Third, we found a within-person indirect relationship of social activity with episodic memory performance through physical activity. For these older adults, engagement in social activities was related to participation in everyday cognitive activities and in turn to better cognitive performance. This pattern is consistent with the interpretation that a lifestyle of social engagement may benefit cognitive performance by providing opportunities or motivation to participate in supportive cognitively stimulating activities. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Social Isolation and Cognitive Function in Later Life: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
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- Authors
- Brown, C. L., Robitaille, A., Zelinski, E. M., Dixon, R. A., Hofer, S. M., & Piccinin, A. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Victoria (CA)
- University of Southern California (US)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- Venue
- Psychology and Aging
- Published
- 2016-12
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 831-846
- ISSN
- 0882-7974 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1498
- PMC
- PMC5190511
- OpenAlex
- W2560240165
- Cited by
- 73
- References
- 78
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8
- FWCI
- 8.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychology and Aging (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (R01 AG026453, P01 AG043362)
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Aging, Health, and Disability
- Keywords
- social activity, cognitive performance, older adults, cognitive activity, mediation, physical activity, depressive symptoms, vascular health, episodic memory, fluency, reasoning, vocabulary, cognitively stimulating activities, social engagement, active lifestyle
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aging, Cognition, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Victoria, Exercise, Social Participation, Memory, Episodic
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