Memory compensation in older adults: the role of health, emotion regulation, and trait mindfulness

Memory compensation strategies in everyday life: similarities and differences between younger and older adults

Memory compensation strategies serve an important role in everyday functioning, especially in the face of cognitive decline. Research on the external memory compensation strategies employed by older adults has focused almost entirely on non-digital tools. Less is known about how memory compensation strategies might have changed due to the rapid and widespread uptake of digital technologies. In the current research, 208 younger adults and 114 older adults freely reported what internal or external memory strategy or tool they would use to accomplish 20 different everyday memory tasks. Participants' responses were coded as involving either internal (e.g. using a mnemonic) or external (e.g. writing a list) strategies, and then underwent further categorisation to classify types of internal and external strategies (e.g. digital or physical tool). Findings indicated that external strategies were much more prevalent than internal strategies for both younger and older adults, and that digital compensation strategies were prevalent for both age groups. There were age differences such that older adults reported more strategies overall, and were less likely to report digital tools, more likely to report physical tools, more likely to report environmental tools, and less likely to report social tools than younger adults. Positive attitudes to technology were associated with digital tool use for older but not younger participants. Findings are discussed in terms of existing theories and approaches to studying memory compensation strategies and cognitive offloading.

The Effects of Mindfulness Interventions on Fibromyalgia in Adults aged 65 and Older: A Window to Effective Therapy

Pain usually receives insufficient attention by individuals due to the misconception that pain is a natural consequence of aging. For persons aged 65 and older, a disease requiring further research is fibromyalgia, characterized by chronic pain without clear pathology. Mind-body therapies like mindfulness are beneficial for this population as they affect psychological and biological aspects of pain. These therapies emphasize a nonjudgmental acceptance of thoughts and attention to the experience without attempting to resist or change them. Despite the potential benefits of mindfulness interventions for persons with fibromyalgia aged 65 and older, only few studies have examined the effects of these therapies, yielding conflicting findings. Importantly, no study has yet to be conducted exclusively on this population. This comprehensive review examined existing literature focusing on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on the physical and mental well-being of persons with fibromyalgia aged 65 and older. It highlights the need for further research on the relationship between mindfulness, fibromyalgia, and gerontology, calling for a standard protocol of intervention.

Systematic Review of Correlates of Internal and External Memory Strategy Use in Older Adults

Memory strategies promote independence during aging. We systematically reviewed literature on correlates and predictors of internal and external memory strategy use for older adults. Of 212 articles identified, 29 met inclusion criteria. Overall, increasing age was associated with decreasing internal but increasing external memory strategy use. Females reported more external memory strategy use, though findings were mixed regarding internal memory strategies. Clinical status appeared to alter the relationship between cognition and internal and external memory strategy use. There were mixed results regarding the relationship between memory strategy use and education, psychological functioning, and health variables. In addition to identifying areas for future research, we provide recommendations to develop primary prevention strategies for intervention and promote successful aging.

Determinants of quality of life and well-being in cognitively unimpaired older adults: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

It is important to know the psychological variables that are related to quality of life and well-being in healthy elderly people. The main objective of the present review is to analyse which factors, through psychological variables, are determinant on the adaptive processes that acquire relevance in the last stage of life.

DATA SOURCES

An electronic search was conducted in WOS, Science Direct, PsycARTICLES, Psychology Database and Psycinfo.

STUDY SELECTION

The search terms used were derived from the combination of the following search string: (("Emotional Factors" OR "Emotional Effects") AND ("Emotional Intelligence" OR "Emotional Regulation") AND ("Quality of Life" OR "Personal Satisfaction") AND ("Healthy Old People" OR "Healthy Old Adults") AND ("Healthy Aging" OR "Successful Aging")).

DATA EXTRACTION

11th April 2021.

DATA SYNTHESIS

In total, 13 articles were selected.

CONCLUSIONS

The articles showed the importance of social support, proactive coping strategies (emotional regulation) and emotional intelligence as key factors in the elderly population for their positive influence on variables such as quality of life and well-being.

PROSPERO ID CRD42021224789

Factorial validity and invariance analysis of the five items version of Mindful Awareness Attention Scale in older adults

Objective: Mindfulness or the full attention state is a factor that contributes to the successful process of aging. This study aims to evaluate the evidence of validity, on the basis of the internal structure, convergent and discriminant validity, reliability and factorial invariance across gender, for the five items Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS-5) within a sample of older adults.Methods: The participants were 323 Peruvian older adults, consisting of 160 women and 163 men, whose average ages were 68.58 (S.D = 7.23) and 68.91 years (S.D = 7.12), respectively. In addition to the MAAS-5, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 were administered.Results: The Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicates that the one-factor structure of the MAAS-5 presents adequate fit for the total sample (χ² = 11.24, df = 5, χ²/df = 2.25, CFI = .99, RMSEA = .06 [90%CI: .01, .11]; and SRMR = .025), as well as for the sub-samples of men and women. This one-factor solution presents adequate internal consistency (ω = 80 [95%CI: .76 - .82]) and it is invariant across gender. Regarding convergent validity, high scores in the MAAS are associated with a greater satisfaction with life (r = .88, p< .01 [95%CI: .85, .95]) and less depression (r = -.56, p< .01 [95%CI: -.48, -.77]) in older adults.Conclusions: The preliminary results back the use of the MAAS-5 as a self-report measure of mindfulness that has an adequate unifactorial structure that is reliable and invariant across gender for measuring the full attention state in elderly Peruvians.

The Relationship Between the Pain Experience and Emotion Regulation in Older Adults

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship of emotion regulation strategies (i.e., emotional suppression and reappraisal) with pain catastrophizing, fear of pain, pain intensity, worry, and depression as function of age in samples of older and younger adults.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional design using validated questionnaires.

SETTING

Participants resided in the community. They completed validated measures using online questionnaires.

SUBJECTS

Two-hundred fifty-seven older adults and 254 younger adults with chronic pain participated.

METHODS

Participants completed validated questionnaires of emotion regulation strategies, pain-related functioning and mental health.

RESULTS

Emotion regulation varied as a function of age and gender. Among our chronic pain sample, older adult males reported lower use of reappraisal and suppression than younger adult males, while older adult females reported higher use of reappraisal than younger adult females. Emotional suppression was positively related to pain catastrophizing, pain intensity, worry, and depression. Reappraisal was negatively related to depression and worry. Interestingly, age showed a positive relationship with fear of pain, pain catastrophizing, worry, depression, and pain intensity, while gender was related to fear of pain and worry. Finally, emotional reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between the affective dimensions of pain intensity and pain catastrophizing among older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that reappraisal strategies are important for older and younger adults with chronic pain, pointing to the necessity of considering these strategies when working clinically with such populations. However, given our findings as well as those in the literature, gender should also be considered.

Age Differences in Emotion Regulation and Facial Muscle Reactivity to Emotional Films

BACKGROUND

Age-related declines in many cognitive abilities are common in healthy aging. However, the ability to effectively regulate emotions is preserved, and possibly even enhanced, in late adulthood. This capacity has been examined most commonly in relation to low-intensity emotional stimuli that typically involve static pictures. Evidence is suggesting that older adults may become overwhelmed when exposed to emotional cues of heightened intensity.

OBJECTIVE

In the current study, we assessed whether older adults retain the ability to regulate emotions successfully when exposed to more emotionally evocative (e.g., dynamic) stimuli.

METHODS

Young and older adults were instructed to regulate, using expressive suppression, their outward behavioral expression of emotions while viewing dynamic stimuli involving amusing and sad films. Facial reactivity, as indexed using electromyography, self-rated emotional experience, and memory for the stimuli were assessed.

RESULTS

The results showed that, relative to young adults, older adults were unable to suppress zygomaticus (cheek) activity to amusing films or corrugator (brow) reactivity to sad films, which is likely due to their relatively reduced facial muscle reactivity. Expressive suppression did not affect young or older adults' subjective feelings or memory for the stimuli.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that there are age differences in facial muscle reactivity to amusing and sad cues of heightened intensity. These findings suggest that older adults' ability to effectively regulate emotions may be limited, at least with expressive suppression, in the context of high-intensity emotional cues. Further research is needed to investigate possible exceptions the preservation of emotion regulation in older adults.

Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychological Health: a Systematic Review

Interest in the influence of dispositional mindfulness (DM) on psychological health has been gathering pace over recent years. Despite this, a systematic review of this topic has not been conducted. A systematic review can benefit the field by identifying the terminology and measures used by researchers and by highlighting methodological weaknesses and empirical gaps. We systematically reviewed non-interventional, quantitative papers on DM and psychological health in non-clinical samples published in English up to June 2016, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A literature search was conducted using PsycINFO, PubMED, Medline and Embase, and 93 papers met the inclusion criteria. Within these, three main themes emerged, depicting the relationship between DM and psychological health: (1) DM appears to be inversely related to psychopathological symptoms such as depressive symptoms, (2) DM is positively linked to adaptive cognitive processes such as less rumination and pain catastrophizing and (3) DM appears to be associated with better emotional processing and regulation. These themes informed the creation of a taxonomy. We conclude that research has consistently shown a positive relationship between DM and psychological health. Suggestions for future research and conceptual and methodological limitations within the field are discussed.

Mindfulness and emotion regulation in older and young adults

OBJECTIVES

Research shows that dispositional mindfulness is associated with metrics of overall well-being, with enhanced emotion regulation potentially underlying these salutary effects. However, the role of regulation strategy use remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined age-variant associations between dispositional mindfulness, emotion regulation strategies, and emotion dysregulation.

METHOD

Self-report data were collected from 50 older and 50 young adults on mindfulness, emotion dysregulation, and recent strategy use. For the current study, we examined if cognitive reappraisal, experiential suppression, and thought avoidance use mediated the association between mindfulness and emotion dysregulation.

RESULTS

Thought avoidance, but not reappraisal or suppression strategies, partially mediated the association between mindfulness and emotion dysregulation. Age group moderated the observed mediation, such that for young adults, lower mindfulness was associated with greater use of thought avoidance, and in turn with greater emotion dysregulation (e.g., difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior in the face of strong emotions).

CONCLUSION

The current cross-sectional study suggests that reduced avoidance of thoughts may partially explain the relationship between trait mindfulness and enhanced emotion regulation, with this mediational pathway being stronger for young compared with older adults.

The role of cognitive reserve and memory self-efficacy in compensatory strategy use: A structural equation approach

INTRODUCTION

The use of compensatory strategies plays an important role in the ability of older adults to adapt to late-life memory changes. Even with the benefits associated with compensatory strategy use, little research has explored specific mechanisms associated with memory performance and compensatory strategies. Rather than an individual's objective memory performance directly predicting their use of compensatory strategies, it is possible that some other variables are indirectly influencing that relationship. The purpose of this study was to: (a) examine the moderating effects of cognitive reserve (CR) and (b) evaluate the potential mediating effects of memory self-efficacy on the relationship between objective memory performance and compensatory strategy use.

METHOD

Two structural equation models (SEM) were used to evaluate CR (latent moderator model) and memory self-efficacy (mediator model) in a sample of 155 community-dwelling older adults over the age of 55.

RESULTS

The latent variable moderator model indicated that CR was not substantiated as a moderator variable in this sample (p = .861). However, memory self-efficacy significantly mediated the association between objective memory performance and compensatory strategy use (β = .22, 95% confidence interval, CI [.002, .437]). More specifically, better objective memory was associated with lower compensatory strategy use because of its relation to higher memory self-efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provide initial support for an explanatory framework of the relation between objective memory and compensatory strategy use in a healthy older adult population by identifying the importance of an individual's memory perceptions.

Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Older Adults: A Review of the Effects on Physical and Emotional Well-being

This comprehensive review examined the effects of mindfulness-based interventions on the physical and emotional wellbeing of older adults, a rapidly growing segment of the general population. Search procedures yielded 15 treatment outcome studies meeting inclusion criteria. Support was found for the feasibility and acceptability of mindfulness-based interventions with older adults. Physical and emotional wellbeing outcome variables offered mixed support for the use of mindfulness-based interventions with older adults. Potential explanations of mixed findings may include methodological flaws, study limitations, and inconsistent modifications of protocols. These are discussed in detail and future avenues of research are discussed, emphasizing the need to incorporate geriatric populations into future mindfulness-based empirical research.

Stress on health-related quality of life in older adults: the protective nature of mindfulness

OBJECTIVES

The current study examined whether the link between stress and health-related quality of life was buffered by protective factors, namely mindfulness, in a sample of middle-aged and older adults.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, 134 healthy, community-dwelling adults (ages 50-85 years) were recruited from Dallas, TX. The participants were screened for depressive symptoms and severity (using the Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9]). All participants completed measures of self-reported health status (i.e. SF36v2: mental and physical health composites), life stress (using the Elders Life Stress Inventory [ELSI]), and trait mindfulness (i.e. Mindful Attention Awareness Scale).

RESULTS

Hierarchical regressions (covarying for age, gender, and education) showed that life stress was inversely related to physical and mental health. Mindfulness was positively related to mental health. The negative effect of life stress on mental health was weakened for those individuals with higher levels of trait mindfulness.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that mindfulness is a powerful, adaptive strategy that may protect middle-aged and older adults from the well-known harmful effects of stress on mental health.