Social Relationships and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life

Backgrounds

Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related disease is a growing challenge for aging societies. Together with improved knowledge and diagnosis of cognition-related illnesses, a growing number of older adults with cognition-related illnesses were identified and the need of health care resources for these patients are increasing. Social relationships can offer opportunities for using cognitive functioning via social interactions, which could impede decline of cognitive functioning. Supportive social relationships may also lessen negative affect of psychological stress, which harm cognitive functioning. Although a few studies identify the benefits of supportive social relationships, it is not clear whether unpleasant social relationships could harm cognitive function. Most prior studies in this field lack inclusive measurements of social relationships to depict a comprehensive picture of social relationships and cognitive function. We aimed to examine whether social engagement, perceived social support (PSS), and perceived social conflict (PSC) are associated with cognitive functioning among American older adults and whether the associations vary by gender in a longitudinal study.

Methods         

This study conducted secondary analysis with data from a national representative sample of 2,155 older Americans who completed Wave 1 (2005-2006) and Wave 2 (2010-2011) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. The dependent variable of this study is cognitive functioning at Wave 2, measured by the Chicago Cognitive Functioning Measure (CCFM). Social engagement, perceived social support (PSS) and perceived social conflict (PSC) at Wave 1 are the key independent variables. Social engagement score was derived from social network characteristics, number of friends, and social participation. PSS was measured by wiliness to open and rely on spouse, family, and friends respectively. PSC was measured by the extent to which a spouse, a family, or friends demand or criticize respondents. Demographic characteristics (gender, age, intimate relationship, education, race/ethnicity), clinical factors (heart problem, depression, smoking, drinking, physical activity, activities of daily living) and cognitive functioning at Wave 1 were controlled for. Hierarchical regression analysis with complex design was used to examine the relationships between social engagement, PSS, and PSC, and cognitive functioning. Three interaction terms between three variables of social relationships (social engagement, PSS, PSC) and gender were created and tested.

Results

Higher level of social engagement was positively correlated with higher cognitive functioning (p<.001), and PSC was significantly related to lower cognitive functioning (p<.05). PSS was not significant in predicting cognitive functioning (p>.05). Interaction term between social engagement and female was significantly correlated with cognitive functioning (p<.05).  Gender-specific analysis showed that social engagement was a significant predictor for cognitive functioning only for females (p<.05), not for males (p>.05).

Conclusions

Social engagement and PSC are significantly related to cognitive functioning in older Americans, indicating the necessity of developing interventions to promote social engagement and address conflict relationships for this population. Social engagement has a stronger effect on cognitive functioning in female older adults, which could be explained by gender norms related to the ways to interact with social ties among older adults. Further studies with different populations and measurements of social relationship are suggested.