Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Racial disparities in late-life cognition persist even after accounting for educational attainment. We examined whether early-life educational quality and literacy in later life help explain these disparities.
METHOD: We used longitudinal data from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP). Educational quality (percent white students; urban/rural school; combined grades in classroom) was operationalized using canonical correlation analysis. Late-life literacy (reading comprehension and ability, writing) was operationalized using confirmatory factor analysis. We examined whether these factors attenuated race-related differences in late-life cognition.
RESULTS: The sample consisted of 1,679 U.S.-born, non-Hispanic, community-living adults aged 65-102 (71% black, 29% white; 70% women). Accounting for educational quality and literacy reduced disparities by 29% for general cognitive functioning, 26% for memory, and 32% for executive functioning but did not predict differences in rate of cognitive change.
DISCUSSION: Early-life educational quality and literacy in late life explain a substantial portion of race-related disparities in late-life cognitive function.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 557-567 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 1 2015 |
Keywords
- Cognition
- Life events and contexts
- Minority and diverse populations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Sociology and Political Science
- Life-span and Life-course Studies
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'The role of early-life educational quality and literacy in explaining racial disparities in cognition in late life'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Standard
- Harvard
- Vancouver
- Author
- BIBTEX
- RIS