TITLE:
The Impact of Age, Gender, and Marital Status on Age-Associated Cognitive Decline
AUTHORS:
Katerine-Ann MacKinnon-Lee, Mark Bahr
KEYWORDS:
Cognitive Decline, Ageing, Marital Status, Gender, Cognitive Reserve, Generalised Decline
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.11 No.8,
August
31,
2020
ABSTRACT: Age-associated cognitive decline is a normal, non-pathological and inevitable human occurrence. Therefore, it remains a research priority to assess the role
of certain protective factors, such as age, gender, and marital status, that
influence age-associated cognitive decline to intervene in the stemming of its
progress and guide theory, policy, and practice. The study used a dissociative
paradigm, using two measures to assess both short-term and visuo-spatial memory, to clarify the
unestablished results of whether cognitive ageing occurs in one subsystem (i.e., modular) or across
the whole brain (i.e., generalised).
Participants (N = 126; 79 females and 46 males) from Sydney, New South
Wales were recruited and divided into three age groups: 18 - 27, 27 - 62, and
62+. Participants completed an online questionnaire, with computer administered tasks, assessing visuo-spatial and
short-term memory. A Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA)
revealed no significant covariate effects; covariates entered included
participants’ total scores from psychometrically established measures
addressing engagement with social networks, depressive symptomology, personal
wellbeing, and resilience. Consistent with previous findings, results from a Multivariate
Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) supported the notion that being married is a
protective factor in slowing down the progression of age-associated cognitive
decline (i.e., visuo-spatial memory), in
comparison to being single or in a de facto relationship. Older adults who were
married performed lower on visuo-spatial memory tasks than younger adults. Support for the generalised model of ageing was revealed. Future directions and implications of
the study’s findings indicate the need to maximise protective interventions for those who are single or in a de facto
relationship, and the brain as a whole system, to prevent unwarranted cognitive
decline.