![]() ![]() People with more social ties have been found to live longer (see reviews by Antonucci, 2001 Bowling and Grundy, 1998), to have better health (see Berkman, 1985 Vaillant, Meyer, Mukamal, and Soldz, 1998), and to be less depressed ( Antonucci, Fuhrer, and Dartiques, 1997).Ī number of factors occur with older age that may increase the likelihood of decreased participation in meaningful social and intellectual activities in older adulthood. It is widely accepted that social engagement is related to many positive outcomes in older adults. ![]() Thus, because it is a promising yet neglected topic at the intersection of social psychology and adult development and aging, more fully investigating the causal relationships between social engagement and cognition is scientifically-and socially-essential. Although there is a long history of research on the relationship between social ties and psychological and physical health, less is known about the relationship of social engagement to cognitive health. However, the construct of social engagement as a behavioral variable supportive of cognitive health has not been systematically considered in either the cognitive or social psychological literature. There is a recent report on contextual factors that affect cognitive function in late adulthood ( National Research Council, 2000), as well as a burst of research activity that is examining mentally engaging leisure activities as a possible protective factor against dementia (e.g., Verghese et al., 2003). Our specific focus is the association between social engagement and cognition. However, adopting a more engaged lifestyle or maintaining participation in the work force might be easier behaviors to adopt than some others that lead to healthy aging, such as changing diet and exercise habits, but are very difficult for most people to do. Caution is also required in assuming that activities that improve cognitive functioning in older adults who do not have dementia will contribute to preventing Alzheimer's disease. These studies have largely been correlational in nature, so that it is impossible to know whether people who age well have selected engaged life-styles or whether those life-style behaviors themselves promote healthy aging. Findings from a few studies suggest that social engagement and absorbing leisure activities may play a role in maintaining cognitive function in late adulthood and even in delaying or preventing dementia. Although there have been tremendous gains in understanding changes in neurocognitive function with age, there is a surprising dearth of information on social factors that lead to healthy minds in late adulthood. There is great popular interest in knowing what can be done to preserve good cognitive function and to prevent Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. The ability to maintain mental vitality into late adulthood and function independently are major goals of most older Americans. ![]()
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