Daily stressors and memory failures in a naturalistic setting: findings from the VA Normative Aging Study.
Laboratory studies of stress and memory have generally found that people with more stress tend to have poorer cognitive performance. The present investigation examined the relationship between stressors and memory failures in a naturalistic setting via a daily diary study of 333 older adults in the VA Normative Aging Study. Multilevel models indicated that on days when people experienced stressors, particularly interpersonal stressors, they were more likely to report memory failures. These stressors were also associated with an increase in memory failures from one day to the next. The findings may be important for preventions to mitigate age-related cognitive decline.
Neupert
Shevaun D
SD
Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7650, and Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, USA. shevaun_neupert@ncsu.edu
Almeida
David M
DM
Mroczek
Daniel K
DK
Spiro
Avron
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs