Subjective Memory in Older African Americans

Abstract

The current analysis examined (a) if measures of psychological well-being predict subjective memory, and (b) if subjective memory is consistent with actual memory. Five hundred seventy-nine older African Americans from the Baltimore Study of Black Aging completed measures assessing subjective memory, depressive symptomatology, perceived stress, locus of control, and verbal and working memory. Higher levels of perceived stress and greater externalized locus of control predicted poorer subjective memory, but subjective memory did not predict objective verbal or working memory. Results suggest that subjective memory is influenced by aspects of psychological well-being but is unrelated to objective memory in older African Americans.

Acknowledgments

The Baltimore Study of Black Aging is supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (R01 AG24108; Minority Supplement AG024108-02S1; R01AG24108-S4) to K. E. W. Additional support is provided to the first author by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (T32 AG00029). The authors would like to thank Alana Bennett, Otis Best, Haolan Cai, Andrea Darby, Janet Downing, and Jeannine Skinner for their assistance in the data collection and entry.

Notes

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