School of Sociology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Department of Sociology, Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Res Aging. 2020 Aug;42(7-8):217-225. doi: 10.1177/0164027520917059. Epub 2020 Apr 8.
Although several studies suggest that religious attendance is associated with better cognitive functioning in later life, researchers have generally failed to connect with any established life-course perspectives or theories of cognitive aging. Building on previous work, we examine the effects of life-course religious attendance on a range of cognitive functioning outcomes. We employ data from the religious life histories module of the 2016 Health and Retirement Study, a subsample of 516 adults aged 65 and older. Our key findings demonstrate that older adults who attended religious services for more of their life course tend to exhibit working memory and mental status and self-rated memory than older adults who attended less often. We contribute to previous research by reconceptualizing religious attendance as a cumulative life-course exposure, exploring the effects of religious attendance net of secular social engagement, and examining a wider range of cognitive functioning outcomes.
尽管有几项研究表明宗教参与与晚年更好的认知功能有关，但研究人员通常未能与任何既定的人生历程观点或认知老化理论联系起来。基于先前的工作，我们研究了人生历程中宗教参与对一系列认知功能结果的影响。我们使用了 2016 年健康与退休研究宗教生活史模块的数据，该模块是一个由 516 名 65 岁及以上成年人组成的样本。我们的主要发现表明，在人生历程中更多地参加宗教仪式的老年人比那些参加宗教仪式较少的老年人表现出更好的工作记忆和心理状态以及自我报告的记忆力。我们通过将宗教参与重新概念化为一个累积的人生历程暴露，探索了宗教参与对世俗社会参与的影响，并考察了更广泛的认知功能结果，从而为先前的研究做出了贡献。
