Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2020 Sep;26(8):815-824. doi: 10.1017/S1355617720000259. Epub 2020 Mar 23.
Social engagement may be an important protective resource for cognitive aging. Some evidence suggests that time spent with friends may be more beneficial for cognition than time spent with family. Because maintaining friendships has been demonstrated to require more active maintenance and engagement in shared activities, activity engagement may be one underlying pathway that explains the distinct associations between contact frequency with friends versus family and cognition.
Using two waves of data from the national survey of Midlife in the United States (n = 3707, Mage = 55.80, 51% female at baseline), we examined longitudinal associations between contact frequency with friends and family, activity engagement (cognitive and physical activities), and cognition (episodic memory and executive functioning) to determine whether activity engagement mediates the relationship between contact frequency and cognition.
The longitudinal mediation model revealed that more frequent contact with friends, but not family, was associated with greater concurrent engagement in physical and cognitive activities, which were both associated with better episodic memory and executive functioning.
These findings suggest that time spent with friends may promote both cognitively and physically stimulating activities that could help to preserve not only these social relationships but also cognitive functioning.
社会参与可能是认知衰老的一个重要保护资源。有证据表明，与朋友相处的时间可能比与家人相处的时间更有益于认知。因为维持友谊已经被证明需要更积极的维护和参与共同活动，所以活动参与可能是解释与朋友和家人的接触频率与认知之间的独特关联的一个潜在途径。
我们使用来自美国中年生活全国调查的两波数据（n=3707，平均年龄为 55.80 岁，基线时 51%为女性），考察了与朋友和家人的接触频率、活动参与（认知和身体活动）与认知之间的纵向关联，以确定活动参与是否在接触频率与认知之间的关系中起中介作用。
纵向中介模型显示，与朋友的接触频率越高，与身体和认知活动的同时参与程度越高，而这些活动都与更好的情景记忆和执行功能有关。
这些发现表明，与朋友相处的时间可能会促进既有认知刺激又有身体刺激的活动，这不仅有助于维持这些社交关系，还有助于维持认知功能。
