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Author: Wight, Richard G.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Wight, Richard G.
Aneshensel, Carol S.
Seeman, Melvin
Seeman, Teresa E.
Late Life Cognition Among Men: A Life Course Perspective On Psychosocial Experience
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 37,2 (September 2003): 173-193.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167494303000463
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Cognitive Ability; Education; Educational Attainment; Life Course; Locus of Control (see Rotter Scale)

This report assesses associations between trajectories of psychosocial experience over the life course and cognitive function in late life men. Survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Older Men, a community sample of 1835 United States men aged 45--59 years in 1966, are used to explore the cognitive effects of personality (locus of control) and emotion (affect) as these attributes evolve from middle age to late life. Locus of control is very stable over time, whereas negative and positive affect fluctuate. Inverse relationships are found between cognitive function and external locus of control, enduring negative affect, and the absence of positive affect. Levels of education also moderate these effects. Low educational attainment appears to intensify the risk for poor cognitive function associated with mixed internal-external locus of control and poor emotional state over time. The connection between education, usually completed early in the life course, and late life cognitive outcomes emphasizes the importance of promoting educational attainment among young people. Among older men with low educational attainment, the identification of mood disorders and personality attributes that negatively impact cognition may lead to the development of appropriate interventions. (Entrez-PubMed, 2003.)
Bibliography Citation
Wight, Richard G., Carol S. Aneshensel, Melvin Seeman and Teresa E. Seeman. "Late Life Cognition Among Men: A Life Course Perspective On Psychosocial Experience." Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 37,2 (September 2003): 173-193.
2. Wight, Richard G.
Aneshensel, Carol S.
Seeman, Teresa E.
Educational Attainment, Continued Learning Experience, and Cognitive Function among Older Men
Journal of Aging and Health 14,2 (May 2002): 211-236
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Cognitive Ability; Continuing Education; Depression (see also CESD); Educational Attainment; Ethnic Groups/Ethnicity; Life Course; Occupational Status; Training, Occupational

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Objectives: This report assesses the effects of educational attainment, post-educational training experience, and occupational status on cognitive function among older men, controlling for demographic and health factors. Conditional relationships between educational attainment and factors that importantly influence cognitive function are also investigated. Methods: Data from a nationally representative sample of 1,839 older men are used to explore life-course effects of occupational and training experiences during the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's. Results: A positive relationship is found between formal educational attainment and cognitive function, but this association is conditional on subsequent training experience, ethnicity, and symptoms of depression. Training experiences are also positively associated with cognitive function. Discussion: Continued pursuit of education and training may offer opportunities to promote cognitive function throughout the life course, especially among those with low educational attainment early in life.
Bibliography Citation
Wight, Richard G., Carol S. Aneshensel and Teresa E. Seeman. "Educational Attainment, Continued Learning Experience, and Cognitive Function among Older Men." Journal of Aging and Health 14,2 (May 2002): 211-236.