Hülür Gizem
School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA.
Gerontology. 2022;68(1):86-97. doi: 10.1159/000514949. Epub 2021 Jun 8.
A growing body of research has documented associations between social relationships and cognitive function, while findings are less clear regarding specific aspects of social relationships that are relevant to change in cognitive function. Furthermore, it is unclear whether associations differ at the between-person and within-person levels.
The present study used 8-year longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine the role of structural (partnered/married, number of social network partners, and contact frequency) as well as functional (support, strain, and loneliness) aspects of social relationships for episodic memory at the between-person and within-person levels. Analyses are based on up to 3 waves of data from 19,297 participants (mean age at baseline = 66 years, SD = 10, range = 50-104; 58% women). Control variables include age at baseline, gender, education, functional health, and depressive symptoms.
Findings showed that at the between-person level, most structural and functional aspects were related to levels of memory performance, with participants with higher numbers of social network members, more frequent contact, and more positive experiences outperforming others. An exception was a higher number of family (child or relative) relationships. At the within-person level, on occasions where participants had a higher number of close family relationships than usual, had more social contact than usual, and felt less lonely than usual, they also showed higher than usual episodic memory performance. Finally, negative effects of social strain and loneliness on episodic memory performance at the between-person level were moderated by social network size, indicating that effects were more negative among individuals with larger social networks.
Both structural and functional aspects of social relationships contribute to between-person differences in levels and fluctuations of episodic memory performance. Ups and downs of relationships to relatives, social contact, and feelings of loneliness contribute to ups and downs of episodic memory. Potential mechanisms underlying these associations are discussed.
越来越多的研究记录了社会关系与认知功能之间的关联，但与认知功能变化相关的社会关系具体方面的研究结果尚不清楚。此外，这些关联在个体间和个体内水平上是否存在差异也不明确。
本研究使用了来自健康与退休研究（HRS）的8年纵向数据，以检验社会关系的结构（有伴侣/已婚、社交网络伙伴数量和联系频率）以及功能（支持、压力和孤独感）方面在个体间和个体内水平上对情景记忆的作用。分析基于来自19297名参与者的多达3波数据（基线时的平均年龄 = 66岁，标准差 = 10，范围 = 50 - 104岁；58%为女性）。控制变量包括基线年龄、性别、教育程度、功能健康状况和抑郁症状。
研究结果表明，在个体间水平上，大多数结构和功能方面都与记忆表现水平相关，社交网络成员数量较多、联系更频繁且有更积极体验的参与者表现优于其他人。一个例外是家庭（子女或亲属）关系数量较多。在个体内水平上，当参与者的亲密家庭关系数量比平时更多、社交接触比平时更多且孤独感比平时更小时，他们的情景记忆表现也高于平时。最后，社交压力和孤独感对个体间水平上情景记忆表现的负面影响受到社交网络规模的调节，这表明在社交网络较大的个体中影响更负面。
社会关系的结构和功能方面都导致了个体间情景记忆表现水平和波动的差异。与亲属关系、社交接触和孤独感的起伏导致了情景记忆的起伏。讨论了这些关联背后的潜在机制。
