Department of Sociology and Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Department of Sociology and Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2018 Aug 14;73(6):1133-1142. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbx009.
Increasing risk for cognitive limitations in later life, along with an aging population, presents critical challenges for caregiving families and health care systems. These challenges urgently call for research examining factors that may protect against or exacerbate cognitive limitations among older adults. We examine the quality of relationships with adult children, a feature of the social environment known to affect physical and mental health and that may also influence the cognitive health of aging parents.
Using nationally representative panel data from the Americans' Changing Lives survey, we analyze the impact of both emotional support and strain in relationships with adult children on trajectories of cognitive limitations of aging parents.
Higher levels of strain with adult children were linked to higher initial levels of cognitive limitations among mothers but appeared to be protective against increasing cognitive limitations for fathers as they aged.
The gender gap in cognitive limitations may be exacerbated among aging parents experiencing high levels of strain with their adult children. These findings point to the importance of taking gender into account and studying whether positive and negative aspects of close social relationships affect older adults.
随着人口老龄化，晚年认知能力下降的风险增加，这给护理家庭和医疗保健系统带来了巨大挑战。这些挑战迫切需要研究哪些因素可能会保护或加剧老年人的认知能力下降。我们研究了与成年子女的关系质量，这是社会环境的一个特征，已知会影响身心健康，也可能影响老年父母的认知健康。
我们使用来自美国人生活变化调查的全国代表性面板数据，分析了与成年子女的情感支持和紧张关系对父母认知能力下降轨迹的影响。
与成年子女关系紧张程度较高与母亲的初始认知能力下降有关，但随着父亲年龄的增长，这种紧张关系似乎对认知能力下降起到了保护作用。
在与成年子女关系紧张程度较高的老年父母中，认知能力下降的性别差距可能会加剧。这些发现表明，考虑到性别差异并研究亲密社会关系的积极和消极方面是否会影响老年人非常重要。
