An exploration of neighborhood characteristics, psychosocial resilience resources, and cognitive functioning among midlife and older black adults

ABSTRACT

Objectives

While existing research has shown that Black adults have worse cognitive functioning than their White counterparts, the psychosocial correlates of cognitive functioning for Black older adults are understudied. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships among perceived neighborhood characteristics, psychosocial resilience resources, and cognitive functioning among midlife and older Black adults.

Methods

Data were from 3,191 Black adults ages 51+ in the 2008–2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to examine associations among neighborhood characteristics, psychosocial resilience (sense of purpose, mastery, and social support), and cognitive functioning among Black adults. Multilevel linear regression models assessed direct effects of neighborhood characteristics and psychosocial resources on cognitive functioning. We then tested whether psychosocial resources moderated the association between neighborhood characteristics and cognitive functioning.

Results

Mean levels of cognitive functioning, sense of purpose, social support, and mastery were significantly related to neighborhood disorder and discohesion. Regression results showed that levels of neighborhood disorder and high discohesion were significantly associated with cognitive functioning. Sense of purpose was positively associated with cognitive functioning, net of neighborhood characteristics. However, only social support moderated the association between neighborhood discohesion and cognition.

Conclusions

These findings demonstrate the importance of examining psychosocial and contextual risk and resilience resources among midlife and older Black adults. This work may inform the development of cognitive behavioral interventions aimed at increasing sense of purpose to promote and enhance cognitive resiliency among Black adults. Altogether, this work may have implications for policy aimed at advancing cognitive health equity.

KEYWORDS:

• Neighborhoods
• Psychosocial resilience
• Health and Retirement Study
• Cognition
• Minority aging

SDG Keyword:

• SDG 3: Good health and well-being

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Each wave of data in this study was collected every four years following the half-sample design of the HRS psychosocial questionnaire. More details on the design of HRS modules can be found on hrs.isr.umich.edu.

2 Note: Values for income and wealth were derived by first adding a constant of 1 and then taking the absolute value of all original values. We then logged this variable. In order to retain all negative values of wealth, we multiplied the logged value of wealth by −1 if the original wealth variable was negative.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities [grant number 3U54MD007595- 12S1].