Social support mediates the relationships between extraversion, neuroticism, and cognitive function in older adults.

Autor: McHugh Power JE; UK CRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health, Institute of Clinical Sciences Block B, Grosvenor Road, Queen's University Belfast, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast BT12 6BJ, UK; Institute of Neuroscience, Lloyd Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland. Electronic address: mchughje@tcd.ie., Lawlor BA; Institute of Neuroscience, Lloyd Institute, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland., Kee F; UK CRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health, Institute of Clinical Sciences Block B, Grosvenor Road, Queen's University Belfast, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast BT12 6BJ, UK.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Public health [Public Health] 2017 Jun; Vol. 147, pp. 144-152. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Apr 08.
DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2017.02.015
Abstrakt: Objectives: We supplement existing findings on a link between social support and cognitive function in later life by considering the role of personality as an antecedent to both, and of social support as a mediator of the link between personality and cognitive function.
Study Design: An observational cohort study.
Methods: We evaluated social support using the Lubben Social Network Scale, across 624 adults aged over 60 years, and investigated this measure as a mediator of the relationships between extraversion and neuroticism at baseline 2007-2009, and cognitive function at follow-up, 2 years later. A half-longitudinal mediation design, within a structural equation modelling framework, was used.
Results: There was a direct effect of extraversion, such that lower levels were related to higher scores of cognitive function. There was no significant direct effect of neuroticism on cognitive function at follow-up. Social support partially mediated the paths between both extraversion and neuroticism and cognitive function at follow-up. Decomposing the mediation effects by using social support subscales (measuring support from friends, relatives and neighbours) showed meaningful indirect effects for both predictors.
Conclusion: Results suggest that social support may offer a target for interventions for cognitively at-risk older adults and add to the existing empirical evidence describing the link between personality and cognitive function.
(Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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