INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 02 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 08:00 am - 09:15 am Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 02: Aging \| MCI \| Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1 Final Abstract #36 Daily Task Performance, Memory, and Executive Functioning as Predictors of Older Adults Life Space Angela Hickman, Washington State University, Pullman, United States Brooke Beech, Washington State University, Pullman, United States Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe, Washington State University, Pullman, United States Category: Aging Keyword 1: activities of daily living Keyword 2: memory: normal Keyword 3: executive functions Objective: Older adults’ (OA) life space can be categorized by the amount of space they cover within their home, neighborhood, community, and beyond the community as well as how often they get to these spaces and with what level of independence. This study aimed to examine whether older adults’ memory and executive functioning skills, and ability to complete everyday instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), predict their life space. It was hypothesized that better memory, executive functioning, and self-reported IADL performance would lead to increased overall OA life space. As daily activities are performed within the everyday environment, it was hypothesized that IADL performance would be the strongest predictor of life space. Participants and Methods: Seventy-six community-dwelling OA (M_age = 71.26, SD = 7.86; M_education = 16.49, SD = 2.50, 74% female, 92% Caucasian, 84% not Hispanic or Latino) completed a range of neuropsychological assessments and questionnaires. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) learning, short delay, and long delay scores were used to create a memory composite. The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) letter fluency and category switching accuracy and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) digit span backwards were included in the executive functioning composite. The Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Compensation Scale (IADL-C) was used to assess participants’ self-reported performance on daily activities. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging Life-Space Assessment (LSA) was used to assess life space.  Results: Multiple regression was used to determine whether the memory composite, executive functioning composite, and IADL-C predict OA scores on the LSA. Years of education was included as a covariate. Together, the predictors accounted for 24.90% of the variability in LSA, F(4, 58) = 4.80, p = .002. The IADL-C was the only significant predictor of the LSA, t(58) = -2.49, p = 0.02. Further, the IADL-C uniquely accounted for 8.01% of the variance in LSA when the influences of education, memory, and executive functioning were controlled (sr = -.28, sr² = .08). In contrast, the memory, t(58) = 1.79, p = 0.08, and executive functioning, t(58) = 1.58, p = 0.12, composites did not predict a significant portion of unique variance in LSA scores. Conclusions: Findings supported the hypothesis that OA self-reported IADL performance would predict their life space. This suggests that OA who indicate better performance on IADLs may be more comfortable traveling outside their home environment more often using less assistance. However, while memory and executive functioning strengthened the overall model, they did not individually offer unique predictive utility for OA life space. This suggests that the interaction between cognitive domains may be more important than individual domains when assessing life space. Generalizability of findings may be limited by higher levels of independence on self-reported IADLs, as all participants were community-dwelling OA. Future research should further examine the relationship between memory and executive functioning domains and life space, as well as other potential factors affecting life space, such as mobility and health conditions.

Poster

02/15/2024
08:00 am - 09:15 am
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 02: Aging | MCI | Neurodegenerative Disease - PART 1

Final Abstract #36

Daily Task Performance, Memory, and Executive Functioning as Predictors of Older Adults Life Space

Angela Hickman, Washington State University, Pullman, United States
Brooke Beech, Washington State University, Pullman, United States
Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe, Washington State University, Pullman, United States

Category: Aging

Keyword 1: activities of daily living
Keyword 2: memory: normal
Keyword 3: executive functions

Objective:

Older adults’ (OA) life space can be categorized by the amount of space they cover within their home, neighborhood, community, and beyond the community as well as how often they get to these spaces and with what level of independence. This study aimed to examine whether older adults’ memory and executive functioning skills, and ability to complete everyday instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), predict their life space. It was hypothesized that better memory, executive functioning, and self-reported IADL performance would lead to increased overall OA life space. As daily activities are performed within the everyday environment, it was hypothesized that IADL performance would be the strongest predictor of life space.

Participants and Methods:

Seventy-six community-dwelling OA (M_age = 71.26, SD = 7.86; M_education = 16.49, SD = 2.50, 74% female, 92% Caucasian, 84% not Hispanic or Latino) completed a range of neuropsychological assessments and questionnaires. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) learning, short delay, and long delay scores were used to create a memory composite. The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) letter fluency and category switching accuracy and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) digit span backwards were included in the executive functioning composite. The Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Compensation Scale (IADL-C) was used to assess participants’ self-reported performance on daily activities. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Study of Aging Life-Space Assessment (LSA) was used to assess life space. 

Results:

Multiple regression was used to determine whether the memory composite, executive functioning composite, and IADL-C predict OA scores on the LSA. Years of education was included as a covariate. Together, the predictors accounted for 24.90% of the variability in LSA, F(4, 58) = 4.80, p = .002. The IADL-C was the only significant predictor of the LSA, t(58) = -2.49, p = 0.02. Further, the IADL-C uniquely accounted for 8.01% of the variance in LSA when the influences of education, memory, and executive functioning were controlled (sr = -.28, sr² = .08). In contrast, the memory, t(58) = 1.79, p = 0.08, and executive functioning, t(58) = 1.58, p = 0.12, composites did not predict a significant portion of unique variance in LSA scores.

Conclusions:

Findings supported the hypothesis that OA self-reported IADL performance would predict their life space. This suggests that OA who indicate better performance on IADLs may be more comfortable traveling outside their home environment more often using less assistance. However, while memory and executive functioning strengthened the overall model, they did not individually offer unique predictive utility for OA life space. This suggests that the interaction between cognitive domains may be more important than individual domains when assessing life space. Generalizability of findings may be limited by higher levels of independence on self-reported IADLs, as all participants were community-dwelling OA. Future research should further examine the relationship between memory and executive functioning domains and life space, as well as other potential factors affecting life space, such as mobility and health conditions.