Interplay of cognitive and motivational resources for out-of-home behavior in a sample of cognitively heterogeneous older adults: findings of the SenTra project

We examined in this study the hypothesis that cognitive resources are more closely linked with out-of-home behavior than motivational resources. A cognitively heterogeneous sample of 222 older adults aged 59-91 years (M = 72.7; SD = 6.2), including 146 cognitively healthy persons and 76 persons with...

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Published inThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences Vol. 68; no. 5; p. 691
Main Authors Wahl, Hans-Werner, Wettstein, Markus, Shoval, Noam, Oswald, Frank, Kaspar, Roman, Issacson, Michal, Voss, Elke, Auslander, Gail, Heinik, Jeremia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.2013
Subjects
Activities of Daily Living - psychology
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cognition
Cognitive Dysfunction - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Motivation
Neuropsychological Tests
Psychological Tests
Out-of-home behavior
Motivational resources
Mild cognitive impairment
Cognitive resources
Old age
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Summary:We examined in this study the hypothesis that cognitive resources are more closely linked with out-of-home behavior than motivational resources. A cognitively heterogeneous sample of 222 older adults aged 59-91 years (M = 72.7; SD = 6.2), including 146 cognitively healthy persons and 76 persons with mild cognitive impairment-recruited in the German and Israeli arm of the SenTra project-was used for the analysis. Out-of-home behavior was assessed by means of global positioning system technology (time out of home; number of nodes visited) as well as by questionnaire (out-of-home activities). Mini-Mental State Examination and trail-making tests A and B were used to assess cognitive resources. Well-being, depression, and environmental mastery were assessed as motivational resources. Findings at the zero-order and latent variable levels confirmed that cognitive resources were more closely linked with out-of-home behavior than motivational resources. Findings support the view that well-being-related motivations to exert out-of-home behavior may become less important in old age because of the increasing cognitive resources required by such behavior.
ISSN:1758-5368
DOI:10.1093/geronb/gbs106