Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T00:23:44.175Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relation of close friends to cognitive performance in old age: the mediating role of leisure activities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2018

Andreas Ihle ,
Michel Oris ,
Marie Baeriswyl  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
Michel Oris
Affiliation:
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Marie Baeriswyl
Affiliation:
Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, 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
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Andreas Ihle, Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Boulevard du Pont d'Arve 28, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland. Phone: +41 22 37 98308. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

From a conceptual point of view, close friends are an important resource for promoting activity engagement in old age. Leisure activity engagement in turn is a key predictor of cognitive performance. Empirically, it remains unclear so far whether leisure activity engagement mediates between having close friends on the one hand and cognitive performance on the other, which we investigated in a large sample of older adults.

Methods:

We assessed cognitive performance (Mill Hill vocabulary scale and Trail Making Test (TMT) parts A and B) in 2,812 older adults. Participants reported information on leisure activity engagement and close friends.

Results:

A larger number of leisure activities and a larger number of close friends were significantly related to better cognitive performance in the Mill Hill vocabulary scale and TMT parts A and B. A larger number of close friends were significantly related to a larger number of leisure activities. The number of leisure activities mediated more than half of the relation of the number of close friends to performance in all three cognitive measures.

Conclusions:

Having close friends may be helpful to stimulate and promote activity participation in old age. By enhancing individuals’ cognitive reserve, this may finally preserve their cognitive performance level in old age.

Keywords

cognitioncognitive reserveleisure activitiesclose friendsolder adults
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 30 , Issue 12: Issue Theme: Positive Psychiatry , December 2018 , pp. 1753 - 1758
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Atchley, R. C. (1989). A continuity theory of normal aging. Gerontologist, 29, 183–190.Google Scholar
Barnes, L. L., de Leon, C. F. M., Wilson, R. S., Bienias, J. L. and Evans, D. A. (2004). Social resources and cognitive decline in a population of older African Americans and whites. Neurology, 63, 2322–2326.Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. (1985). The forms of capital. In Richardson, J. G. (ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241–258). New York, NY: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Deltour, J. (1993). Echelle de Vocabulaire Mill Hill de J.C. Raven. [Raven Mill Hill Vocabulary Scale]. Braine-le Chateau, Belgium: Editions l'Application des Techniques Modernes.Google Scholar
Engelhardt, H., Buber, I., Skirbekk, V. and Prskawetz, A. (2010). Social involvement, behavioural risks and cognitive functioning among older people. Ageing & Society, 30, 779–809.Google Scholar
Flora, J. and Segrin, C. (1998). Joint leisure time in friend and romantic relationships: the role of activity type, social skills and positivity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 711–718.Google Scholar
Hamilton, K., Warner, L. M. and Schwarzer, R. (2017). The role of self-efficacy and friend support on adolescent vigorous physical activity. Health Education & Behavior, 44, 175–181.Google Scholar
Havighurst, R. J. (1951). Developmental Tasks and Education. New York, NY: Longmans Green.Google Scholar
Hertzog, C., Kramer, A. F., Wilson, R. S. and Lindenberger, U. (2008). Enrichment effects on adult cognitive development: can the functional capacity of older adults be preserved and enhanced? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9, 1–65.Google Scholar
Ho, C. Y. (2016). The relationship from friendship links to educational achievement. B. E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 16, 1563–1572.Google Scholar
Hultsch, D. F., Hertzog, C., Small, B. J. and Dixon, R. A. (1999). Use it or lose it: engaged lifestyle as a buffer of cognitive decline in aging? Psychology and Aging, 14, 245–263.Google Scholar
Huxhold, O., Miche, M. and Schuz, B. (2014). Benefits of having friends in older ages: differential effects of informal social activities on well-being in middle-aged and older adults. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 69, 366–375.Google Scholar
Ihle, A., Oris, M., Fagot, D., Maggiori, C. and Kliegel, M. (2016). The association of educational attainment, cognitive level of job, and leisure activities during the course of adulthood with cognitive performance in old age: the role of openness to experience. International Psychogeriatrics, 28, 733–740.Google Scholar
Ihle, A., Oris, M., Fagot, D., Baeriswyl, M., Guichard, E. and Kliegel, M. (2015). The association of leisure activities in middle adulthood with cognitive performance in old age: the moderating role of educational level. Gerontology, 61, 543–550.Google Scholar
Ihle, A. et al. (2017). High-Density lipoprotein cholesterol level relates to working memory, immediate and delayed cued recall in Brazilian older adults: the role of cognitive reserve. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 44, 84–91.Google Scholar
Karp, A., Paillard-Borg, S., Wang, H. X., Silverstein, M., Winblad, B. and Fratiglioni, L. (2006). Mental, physical and social components in leisure activities equally contribute to decrease dementia risk. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 21, 65–73.Google Scholar
Kimura, D., Takeda, T., Ohura, T. and Imai, A. (2017). Evaluation of facilitative factors for preventing cognitive decline: a 3-year cohort study of community intervention. Psychogeriatrics, 17, 9–16.Google Scholar
Ludwig, C., Cavalli, S. and Oris, M. (2014). “Vivre/Leben/Vivere”: an interdisciplinary survey addressing progress and inequalities of aging over the past 30 years in Switzerland. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 59, 240–248.Google Scholar
Opdebeeck, C., Martyr, A. and Clare, L. (2016). Cognitive reserve and cognitive function in healthy older people: a meta-analysis. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 23, 40–60.Google Scholar
Oris, M. et al. (2016). Representation of vulnerability and the elderly. A total survey error perspective on the VLV survey. In Oris, M., Roberts, C., Joye, D. and Ernst-Stähli, M. (eds.), Surveying Human Vulnerabilities across the Life Course (pp. 27–64). Heidelberg: Springer.Google Scholar
Paillard-Borg, S., Fratiglioni, L., Xu, W. L., Winblad, B. and Wang, H. X. (2012). An active lifestyle postpones dementia onset by more than one year in very old adults. Journal of Alzheimers Disease, 31, 835–842.Google Scholar
Reitan, R. M. (1958). Validity of the trail making test as an indicator of organic brain damage. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 8, 271–276.Google Scholar
Stern, Y. (2009). Cognitive reserve. Neuropsychologia, 47, 2015–2028.Google Scholar
Stern, Y. (2012). Cognitive reserve in ageing and Alzheimer's disease. Lancet Neurology, 11, 1006–1012.Google Scholar
Wang, B. Y., He, P. and Dong, B. R. (2015). Associations between social networks, social contacts, and cognitive function among Chinese nonagenarians/centenarians. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 60, 522–527.Google Scholar
Wang, H. X. et al. (2013). Late life leisure activities and risk of cognitive decline. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 68, 205–213.Google Scholar