Graduate Student University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, Colorado, United States
Objective: The study was conducted to examine (a) the cross-sectional association between perceived stress (PS) and executive function (EF), accounting for demographic characteristics and depressive symptoms; and (b) age as a moderator of the association between PS and EF, accounting for demographics and depressive symptoms.
Method: Analyses were conducted on participants who completed Wave 1 of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), a probability sample of individuals age >50 years. PS was measured by self-report and EF was measured by Color Trails 2 completion time and Color Trails 2 – Color Trails 1 difference in completion time. Participants with MMSE scores < 18 were excluded; the final sample included 5,130 adults (54.3% women) with a mean age of 62.6 years.
Results: Linear regression analyses indicated PS was significantly and positively associated with (a) Color Trails 2 completion time (b=8.31, p<.001); and (b) Color Trails difference in completion time (b=5.03, p<.001). These associations remained significant when adjusting for demographic covariates and depressive symptoms. Age moderated the association between PS and EF (ps <.001), such that the strength of the association between PS and EF was stronger for older adults; the interaction remained significant when adjusting for demographics and depressive symptoms.
Conclusions: Results suggest that (a) PS may negatively impact EF; (b) the association is independent of demographic characteristics and depressive symptoms; and (c) the negative impact of PS on EF may be more pronounced for older adults. Clinicians may consider assessing severity of PS when administering EF measures to account for psychological factors contributing to cognitive functioning.
