Relationships between self-reported physical and mental health and intelligence performance across adulthood
Article Abstract:
Many negative effects influencing cognitive functioning have been reported in association with the aging process. Poorer learning, memory, problem solving, and intellectual performance is linked with advancing age. However, the repercussions of developmental changes are not completely clear. Other factors that are thought to influence the onset of many of these deficits are assumptions about inevitable and programmed decline that accompanies old age. Several factors indicative of mental health and intelligence performance were tested in a group of 127 adults between the ages of 20 and 90 years old. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale was administered to test digit span memory (backward and forward), crystallized intelligence (vocabulary and information), and fluid intelligence (block design and digit symbol). Also, the self-ratings of the physical and mental health of the subjects were obtained, health habits were observed, and the Cornell Medical Index and the Zung Depression Scale were administered. The results were similar to what was expected: no correlations between age and digit span memory were found; age and fluid intelligence were negatively correlated (i.e. as age increased, fluid intelligence decreased); and a moderate positive correlation was noted between crystallized intelligence and age. Mental and physical problems were more frequently reported in older adults than in younger adults. Even relatively healthy older adults had overall higher reports of mental and physical health problems than the younger individuals. Also, the results of the self-reports were reflected in the performance of standard intelligence tasks; the state of the individual's health has a significantly greater impact upon intelligence performance in the elderly than in younger adults. The implication is that poor health in the elderly may lead to diminished intellectual functioning, and that effective treatment of health problems in this group of individuals may result in the additional benefit of improving intellectual functioning. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1990
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Social networks, health, and emotional well-being among the oldest old in London
Article Abstract:
Social networks and social support are thought to be necessary components for promoting the health and well-being of most people. This is particularly true in elderly populations. The exact mechanisms by which this occurs are unknown, and the actual structures of such networks have not been clearly defined. Research in this area has been limited by methodological problems, often by oversimplifying what constitutes social support. This study examined the various types of social networks and how they related to the provision of practical help needed by elderly persons, as well as their impact on the emotional well-being of such persons. Its main purpose was to discover what social services needed to be provided to a specific elderly population. Interviews were obtained from 662 people over the age of 85 who lived at home in an inner London borough. Fifty-two percent reported they could not leave their homes, with 61 percent saying they needed help with housework and 68 percent needing help with shopping. The average number of health-related complaints per person was four. Results from a test for emotional well-being found that 28 percent had psychiatric disturbances, and 23 percent reported that loneliness was a severe problem. In relation to social networks, 59 percent were happy with their networks, 19 percent felt neutral, and 27 percent were unhappy. When the relationships among factors were examined, it was found that the strength of the social networks and the size of such networks were positively related to how much of the elderly person's physical needs were met and weakly related to emotional well-being. Health status was found to be a stronger predictor of emotional well-being. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1991
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Cognitive performance in a high-functioning community-dwelling elderly population
Article Abstract:
Education was the most significant demographic factor related to cognitive functioning in a study of 1,192 high-functioning elderly subjects in a community setting. While gender differences in scores on five cognitive performance tests were insignificant, income and race had moderate effects. Education explained 30% of total score variance and was most strongly related to abstraction skills. Memory subtests appeared to be largely independent of the education factor. The longitudinal follow-up should assess whether education affects cognitive function in the elderly.
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1993
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- Abstracts: The relationship between cognitive/neuropsychological factors and car driving performance in older adults. The effects of physical activity on mortality in the Jerusalem 70-Year-Olds Longitudinal Study
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