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

Ihle, Andreas; Oris, Michel; Baeriswyl, Marie; Kliegel, Matthias

doi:10.1017/S1041610218000789

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Title		The relation of close friends to cognitive performance in old age: the mediating role of leisure activities
Authors		Ihle, Andreas Oris, Michel Baeriswyl, Marie Kliegel, Matthias
Published in		International Psychogeriatrics. 2018, vol. 30, no. 12, p. 1753-1758
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 parts A and B) in 2812 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 Trail Making Test parts A and B. A larger number of close friends was 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		Cognition — Cognitive reserve — Leisure activities — Close friends — Older adults
Identifiers		DOI: 10.1017/S1041610218000789
Full text		Article (Accepted version) (271 Kb) - Free access
Structures		Faculté de psychologie et des sciences de l'éducation / Section de psychologie Centres et instituts / Centre interfacultaire de gérontologie et d'études des vulnérabilités Faculté des sciences de la société / Institut de démographie et de socioéconomie
Research groups		NCCR LIVES Cognitive Aging Lab (CAL) Centre LIVES
Project		FNS: NCCR LIVES
Citation (ISO format)		IHLE, Andreas et al. The relation of close friends to cognitive performance in old age: the mediating role of leisure activities. In: International Psychogeriatrics, 2018, vol. 30, n° 12, p. 1753-1758. doi: 10.1017/S1041610218000789 https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:107197