Religious attendance and cognitive functioning among older Mexican Americans

Research shows that social engagement reduces the probability of cognitive decline in late life. The purpose of this study was to test whether religious attendance, a major source of social engagement for many older individuals, is associated with slower rates of cognitive decline among older Mexica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences Vol. 61; no. 1; pp. P3 - 9
Main Authors Hill, Terrence D, Burdette, Amy M, Angel, Jacqueline L, Angel, Ronald J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Oxford University Press for Gerontological Society of America 01.01.2006
SeriesJournals of Gerontology: Series B
Subjects
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cognition
Female
Humans
Male
Mexican Americans
Psychological Tests
Religion and Medicine
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Summary:Research shows that social engagement reduces the probability of cognitive decline in late life. The purpose of this study was to test whether religious attendance, a major source of social engagement for many older individuals, is associated with slower rates of cognitive decline among older Mexican Americans. Using four waves of data collected from a sample of 3,050 older Mexican-origin individuals, we estimated a series of linear growth curve models to assess the effects of religious attendance on cognitive functioning trajectories. We used the Mini-Mental State Examination to measure cognitive functioning. Our central finding is that religious attendance is associated with slower rates of cognitive decline among older Mexican Americans. Specifically, respondents who attend church monthly, weekly, and more than weekly tend to exhibit slower rates of cognitive decline than those who do not attend church.
ISSN:1079-5014
1758-5368
DOI:10.1093/geronb/61.1.P3