Processing Speed Mediates Age Cohort and Prospective Memory Performance

Age has been shown to negatively impact prospective memory (PM), the ability to carry out intentions in the future. However, many age-related cognitive changes may reflect underlying declines in processing speed (Salthouse et al., 2004). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether processing speed mediates the relationship between age cohort and prospective memory performance. Older (n = 52) and younger adults (n = 40) completed WAIS-IV Coding and the Virtual Kitchen Protocol, which includes PM tasks with both time-based and event-based cues both in and out of virtual reality. Processing speed mediated the relationship between age cohort and PM performance both in and out of virtual reality. Partial mediation was observed in the analog-based PM, whereas full mediation was observed in the virtual reality-based PM. Processing speed may explain age-related changes in PM as measured by both analog and virtual reality tasks

Loneliness and Off-Topic Verbosity Among Young Adults and Older Adults

Objectives: Off-topic verbosity (OTV) refers to prolonged speech that derails from the initial conversational topic by including more loosely associated speech and becoming increasingly more unfocused and distant from the initial topic. Previous research has suggested that, among older adults, loneliness may be associated with greater OTV. The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of the relationship between loneliness and OTV among young adults ( n = 62) and older adults ( n = 80). Methods: Participants completed a measure of loneliness and provided speech samples, which were transcribed and rated for OTV. Results: Results indicated some relationship between loneliness and tangentiality of speech, particularly among older adults. Discussion: Overall, loneliness may be associated with greater OTV in older adults, which could further explain the connection between increased loneliness and worse health outcomes in older adulthood. </jats:p

Older Adults’ Persisting Beliefs About the Death Panel Myth and Advance Directives

Abstract The political debate preceding passage of the Affordable Care Act included controversy over a bill that some claimed would establish a “death panel” to judge if older adults were worthy of receiving medical care. This claim was false, as the bill would instead incentivize physicians to inform Medicare patients about advanced directives: legal documentation of one’s end-of-life preferences. However, the death panel myth led to the removal of this bill from the Affordable Care Act, and a poll five years later found 41% of Americans still believed in the death panel myth. We investigated the effects believing in this myth had on older adults, hypothesizing that those who believed in the myth would have lower advance directive completion rates and more negative attitudes towards advanced directives. Community-dwelling older adults aged 65 to 102 years (N = 182) in a large city in the southern United States completed an interview survey. No relationship was found between belief in the death panel myth and advanced directive completion; however, older adults who believed in the myth had lower perceived need for advanced directives than those who did not. Surprisingly, 47.1% of older adults who believed in the myth also supported incentivizing doctors to inform patients about advanced directives, suggesting that many older adults who believe in the myth do not know that the controversial bill was about advanced directives. Results suggest that the death panel myth may have long-lasting effects, specifically persistent distrust about policies promoting advance directives.</jats:p

QUALITY OF CONTACT WITH OLDER ADULTS AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT AGING ARE ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER AGEISM AMONG YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract Ageism refers to stereotypes about and prejudice against individuals on the basis of age. Ageism among young adults may be different than other forms of intolerance simply because age changes; that is, young adults will grow older, and they will eventually become a member of what is presently an outgroup (i.e., older adults). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether ageism among young adults (N = 623) is more closely associated with future-oriented variables (i.e., optimism and fear of death) or whether ageism more closely resembles an outgroup attitude, which like other outgroup attitudes is mitigated by knowledge about and quality of contact with those outgroup members. Bivariate correlations found that knowledge of aging, quality of contact with older adults, and optimism were associated with lower ageism. In a multiple regression analysis, only knowledge about aging and quality of contact with older adults were associated with lower ageism. Overall, the results suggest that ageism represents more of an outgroup attitude rather than a future-oriented attitude. These results support the contact hypothesis in that knowledge of aging and quality of contact with older adults were associated with lower ageism among young adults. Education about aging and quality contact with older adults may be effective ways to reduce ageism among young adults.</jats:p

A-12 Relationships between Performance on the Virtual Environment Grocery Store and Adaptive Functioning among Older Adults

Abstract Background/Problem Neuropsychologists are often asked to evaluate patients’ functional capacities, yet traditional neuropsychological tests have limited correspondence with real-world outcomes. The Virtual Environment Grocery store (VEGS) is a virtual environment that stimulates shopping tasks. Previous research has found support for the construct validity of the VEGS among older adults (Parsons &amp; Barnett, 2017); however, no extant research has examined relationships between the VEGS and adaptive functioning among older adults. Method Older adults (n = 30; age 43–90 M = 77.09, SD = 12.94) were administered the Virtual Reality Grocery Store (VEGS) and the Texas Functional Living Scale (TFLS) and completed the Instruments of Daily Activities (IADLS) Questionnaire. Results VEGS variables explained 39.6% of the variance in self-reported adaptive functioning (I, e., the IADLS) and 60.0% of the variance in performance-based adaptive functioning (i.e., the TFLS). Conclusion These results suggest that the VEGS is a predictor of adaptive functioning – particularly when measured with a performance-based measure – among older adults. </jats:sec

OPTIMISM AND EXPECTATIONS REGARDING AGING AMONG YOUNG ADULTS AND OLDER ADULTS

Abstract A large body of research has found that individuals’ attitudes toward aging may influence their future health. Previous research has found that age is associated with more negative expectations toward aging. However, it is possible that optimism, or generalized positive expectancies regarding future outcomes may play a role in expectations regarding aging. Optimism has been identified as a key component of successful aging. The purpose of this study was to compare expectations regarding aging among young adult and older adult age cohorts, controlling for optimism, and to investigate the differential relationships between optimism and expectations regarding aging by age cohort. Young adults (n = 130) and older adults (n = 335) completed a survey containing the Expectations Regarding Aging – 12 and the Optimism-Pessimism Scale. Results found that, after controlling for optimism, older adults endorsed more negative expectations regarding aging. Comparison of the correlation coefficients between optimism and expectations regarding aging among age cohorts found that optimism was significantly associated with expectations regarding aging among older adults but not young adults and that this difference was significant. Taken together, the results suggest that older adults have more negative expectations for aging and that optimism may play a key role in older adults’ expectations regarding aging.</jats:p