Abstract
Neuroticism has been associated with individual differences across multiple cognitive functions. Yet, the literature on its specific association with executive functions (EF) in older adults is scarce, especially using longitudinal designs. To disentangle the specific influence of neuroticism on EF and on coarse cognitive functioning in old adulthood, respectively, we examined the relationship between neuroticism, the Trail Making Test (TMT) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in a 6-year longitudinal study using Bayesian analyses. Data of 768 older adults (Mage = 73.51 years at Wave 1) were included in a cross-lagged analysis. Results showed no cross-sectional link between neuroticism and TMT performance at Wave 1 and no longitudinal link between neuroticism at Wave 1 and MMSE at Wave 2. However, neuroticism at Wave 1 predicted TMT performance at Wave 2, indicating that the more neurotic participants were, the lower they performed on the TMT six years later. Additional analyses showed that this relation was fully mediated by participants’ perceived stress. Our results suggest that the more neurotic older adults are the more stress they may perceive six years later, which in turn negatively relates to their EF. In sum, this study demonstrates that neuroticism may lead to lower EF in older age across six years. It further suggests older adults’ perceived stress as mediator, thereby providing novel insights into the mechanisms underlying this relation. Possible intervention approaches to counter these effects are discussed.
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Availability of data and materials
The data presented in this paper come from the longitudinal study “Vivre – Leben – Vivere” which investigated cognitive aging across the lifespan in Switzerland. The data presented in this study derived from VLV1 are openly available at the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS), https://forsbase.unil.ch /project/study-public-overview/14791/0, project reference number 12941. Data that are derived from VLV2 are currently prepared for being openly available in FORS, too. Until then, these data are available on justified request from the corresponding author.
Notes
Results presented in this paper are based on Bayesian estimation because normality assumptions for maximum likelihood estimation were not fulfilled. However, post hoc analyses show that classical inferential estimation would provide the same pattern of results, both for the cross-lagged and the mediation cross-lagged models.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge funding from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives (NCCR LIVES) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (Grant Number: 51NF40-185901).
Funding
The authors acknowledge funding from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES – Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives (NCCR LIVES) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) (Grant Number: 51NF40-185901).
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Da Silva Coelho, C., Joly-Burra, E., Ihle, A. et al. Higher levels of neuroticism in older adults predict lower executive functioning across time: the mediating role of perceived stress. Eur J Ageing 19, 633–649 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-021-00665-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-021-00665-z