Relationship of Physical Well-Being, Emotional Well-Being, and Social Engagement to Cognition in a Multiethnic Older Population.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the association between cognition, social engagement, physical well-being, and emotional well-being in a diverse older population.

Method: A secondary data analysis was conducted using a factor score structural equation model in a multiethnic sample of African American, Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic American, and European American participants.

Results: Statistically significant (direct effects) between the latent constructs of physical well-being, emotional well-being, and social engagement were found. Model invariance testing suggests a partial invariance model with differences in life space, depression, and anxiety across racial/ethnic groups. As a mediator, social engagement significantly diminished the effects of emotional well-being (i.e., anxiety and depression) and increased the effects of physical well-being (Life Space Assessment and SF-36 Physical Component Summary: β = -0.07, standard error [SE] = 0.14, p = 0.045, and β = -0.15, SE = 0.14, p = 0.040, respectively) on cognition.

Conclusion: Results suggest good model fit and a critical role for social engagement in its impact on cognition. [Research in Gerontological Nursing, 18(3), 124-136.].