Interplay of cognitive and motivational resources for out-of-home behavior in a sample of cognitively heterogeneous older adults: Findings of the SenTra project

Hans Werner Wahl*, Markus Wettstein, Noam Shoval, Frank Oswald, Roman Kaspar, Michal Issacson, Elke Voss, Gail Auslander, Jeremia Heinik

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

36 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives.We examined in this study the hypothesis that cognitive resources are more closely linked with out-of-home behavior than motivational resources.Method.A cognitively heterogeneous sample of 222 older adults aged 59-91 years (M = 72.7; SD = 6.2), including 146 cognitively healthy persons and 76 persons with mild cognitive impairment - recruited in the German and Israeli arm of the SenTra project - was used for the analysis. Out-of-home behavior was assessed by means of global positioning system technology (time out of home; number of nodes visited) as well as by questionnaire (out-of-home activities). Mini-Mental State Examination and trail-making tests A and B were used to assess cognitive resources. Well-being, depression, and environmental mastery were assessed as motivational resources.Results.Findings at the zero-order and latent variable levels confirmed that cognitive resources were more closely linked with out-of-home behavior than motivational resources.Discussion.Findings support the view that well-being-related motivations to exert out-of-home behavior may become less important in old age because of the increasing cognitive resources required by such behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)691-702
Number of pages12
JournalJournals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Volume68
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding This work was supported by the German Research Foundation from 2008 to 2011, based on a grant to Hans-Werner Wahl (WA809/11-1).

Keywords

  • Cognitive resources
  • Mild cognitive impairment
  • Motivational resources
  • Old age
  • Out-of-home behavior

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