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Performance-based everyday functional competence measures across the adult lifespan: the role of cognitive abilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2017

Erika Borella ,
Alessandra Cantarella ,
Emilie Joly ,
Paolo Ghisletta ,
Elena Carbone ,
Deborah Coraluppi ,
Federica Piras  and
Rossana De Beni
Erika Borella*
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Alessandra Cantarella
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Emilie Joly
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Paolo Ghisletta
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland Distance Learning University Switzerland, Sierre, Switzerland
Elena Carbone
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Deborah Coraluppi
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Federica Piras
Affiliation:
IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Roma, Italy
Rossana De Beni
Affiliation:
Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Erika Borella, Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Via Venezia 8, 35131 Padova, Italy. Phone: +39 049 8276622; Fax: + 39 049 8276600. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Background:

The effects of age on the ability to manage everyday functioning, crucial to ensure a healthy aging process, have been rarely examined and when, self-report measures have been used. The aim of the present study was to examine age effects across the adult lifespan in everyday functioning with two performance-based measures: the Everyday Problems Test (EPT), and the Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (TIADL) tasks. The role of some crucial cognitive abilities, i.e. working memory (WM), processing speed, reasoning, vocabulary, and text comprehension in the EPT and the TIADL were also assessed to see whether or not they have a similar influence (and to what extent) in accounting for age-related effects in these two performance-based measures.

Method:

Two hundred and seventy-six healthy participants, from 40 to 89 years of age were presented with the EPT, the TIADL, as well as WM, processing speed, reasoning, text comprehension, and vocabulary tasks.

Results:

Path models indicated an indirect effect of age and education on the EPT, which was mediated by all the cognitive variables considered, with WM and reasoning being the strongest predictors of performance. An indirect quadratic effect of age, but not of education, was found on the TIADL score, and an accelerated decline in processing speed mediated the relationship between age and the TIADL score.

Conclusion

This study revealed age-related effects in performance-based measures, which are mediated by different cognitive abilities depending on the measure considered. The findings highlight the importance of assessing everyday functioning even in healthy older adults.

Keywords

everyday life functioning measuresEveryday Problems Test (EPT)Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (TIADL)tasksreasoningworking memoryprocessing speedaging
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 29 , Issue 12 , December 2017 , pp. 2059 - 2069
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2017 

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