Daily Cognition in the Family Context: The Complex Associations Between Memory Lapses, Family Relationships, and Affect in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

Background and objectives: The analysis of daily memory lapses is an underutilized approach to understanding daily experiences of cognitive functioning. The present study adopts this approach, with the goals of exploring how the quality of family relationships predicts the frequency of daily memory lapses and moderates the link between daily memory lapses and daily affect.

Research design and methods: We used longitudinal data from the third wave of Midlife in the United States and the National Study of Daily Experiences to assess our research goals. Participants (N = 1,236; Mage = 62.48 years, SD = 10.21, range 43-91; 57% female) completed 8 nightly telephone interviews that included reports of prospective and retrospective memory lapses as well as daily positive and negative affect.

Results: During a separate baseline interview, participants reported the emotional support they received from their family. Latent profile analysis models identified 4 family relationship types: pleasant, ambivalent, neutral, and unpleasant. Compared with pleasant relationships, ambivalent (b = .23, p < .05) and neutral (b = .35, p < .01) relationships significantly predicted a higher frequency of prospective memory lapses; this effect was not found among retrospective lapses. In addition, relative to pleasant relationships, ambivalent (b = .02, p < .05), neutral (b = .02, p < .05), and unpleasant (b = .07, p < .001) relationships were associated with increased negative affect on days with a retrospective lapse, but not prospective lapse.

Discussion and implications: This study contributes to the literature by revealing that family relationships are related to the memory lapses individuals experience in their daily lives, and identifies how lapses might contribute to affective symptom load over time.