Is Cognitive Functioning Important for Quality in Ageing?

• Well-being and happiness are two important aspects of quality in ageing. By using a large scale memory data base (the Betula study) the importance of cognitive status (episodic memory) for an individual’s subjective notion of well-being and happiness were investigated, both among middle- and old aged individuals. When a number of factors where controlled for (e.g., physical health, psycho-social aspects), results indicated no relationships between cognitive status and well-being or happiness, in any age group. However, data suggested that subjective experience of memory capacity seems to play an important role. Further, being married, having low levels of stress, and not having sleeping problems, also seem to be associated with both well-being and happiness. The result suggests that other factors, rather than cognitive status, plays a substantial roll in the quality of ageing. Future studies would benefit from using longitudinal data to be able to investigate these relationships over time.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Cognitive aging

happiness

well-being

memory

Betula

Psychology

psykologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)