The effect of spousal bereavement on cognitive functioning in a sample of older adults.
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the association between bereavement and cross-sectional differences in cognitive performance in a sample of older adults.


METHODS
Secondary cross-sectional data analysis was conducted on 211 participants from the MacArthur Battery dataset. Participants completed several cognitive tasks 6-months post-loss.


RESULTS
Hierarchical multiple regression results suggested that bereavement status was not associated with cognitive performance. However, the effect of bereavement on memory (immediate and delayed story recall) performance was moderated by age and gender where the younger participants and men who were bereaved performed worse compared to their non-bereaved counterparts.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results support the finding that bereavement is associated with poorer memory performance within certain subgroups (i.e., men and younger participants). We discuss findings in light of theories of stress and cognitive aging.
Rosnick
Christopher B
CB
Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL 62234, USA. crosnic@siue.edu
Small
Brent J
BJ
Burton
Allison M
AM
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D001601:Bereavement; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors