Openness to experience and cognitive functioning and decline in older adults: The mediating role of cognitive reserve

Objective

Openness to experience has been consistently associated with better cognitive functioning in older people, but its association with cognitive decline is less clear. Cognitive reserve has been proposed as a mechanism underlying this relationship, but previous studies have reported mixed findings, possibly due to the different ways of conceptualizing cognitive reserve. We aimed to analyze the potential mediating role of cognitive reserve in the association between openness and cognitive functioning and decline in healthy older people.

Method

In Wave 1 and at the four-year follow-up (Wave 2), 87 healthy older people (49.4% women; M age = 65.08, SD = 4.54) completed a neuropsychological battery to assess cognitive functioning and a questionnaire to assess cognitive reserve. Openness was measured with the NEO- Five-Factor Inventory. Mediation models were proposed to investigate the relationship between openness and cognitive function or decline through cognitive reserve or its change.

Results

Cognitive reserve mediated the openness-cognitive functioning association. Thus, individuals with higher openness showed greater cognitive reserve, and this greater cognitive reserve was associated with better cognitive functioning. Moreover, greater cognitive reserve at baseline also mediated the association between higher openness and slower cognitive decline. However, change in cognitive reserve did not mediate the association between openness and change in cognitive functioning.

Conclusions

Cognitive reserve is a mechanism underlying the association between openness and cognitive functioning and decline. These findings support the differential preservation hypothesis, suggesting that healthy older adults who engage in more cognitively stimulating activities would show less age-related cognitive decline.