title: Formal education level versus self-rated literacy as predictors of cognitive aging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the prediction of cognitive functioning by formal education and self-rated literacy and the differences in prediction across younger and older cohorts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on 28,535 respondents were drawn from a cross-sectional representative sample of community-dwelling older individuals (≥50), participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe. Education level was classified according to the International Standard Classification of Education 1997 (ISCED-1997) self-rated literacy was determined by having respondents rate their reading and writing on 1-5 scales. Cognitive functioning was measured by verbal recall, word fluency, and arithmetic ability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Structural equation modeling demonstrated that self-rated literacy was more strongly associated with cognitive functioning than was education level, with or without additional exogenous variables (age, sex, household income, medical conditions, activities of daily living, reading eyesight, and country). The association between education level and cognitive functioning was weaker in older than in younger age groups, whereas the association between self-rated literacy and cognitive functioning showed the opposite trend.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-rated literacy was found to be a better predictor of late-life cognitive functioning than was the level of formal education. The results have implications for studies of age-related differences in which education level is taken into account.
authors.affiliation: Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University, Ra'anana 43107, Israel. gkave@012.net.il
authors.forename: Gitit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kavé
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shrira
authors.forename: Yuval
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Palgi
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Spalter
authors.forename: Menachem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ben-Ezra
authors.forename: Dov
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shmotkin
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012647:Self-Assessment