A Life Course Perspective on Cognitive Aging: The Interplay between Early and Later Life Stimulating Environments

Abstract

A gap in the literature on social determinants of cognitive aging is the lack of focus on the interplay of cognitively stimulating environments across the life course. This study uses a life course perspective to propose and examine potential interaction and mediation effects between early and later life stimulating environments. Using rich cognitive assessments and egocentric network data from the state-representative Person to Person Health Interview Study (N = 685) conducted in Indiana, we find that associations between social bridging network (later life stimulating environments) and cognitive outcomes are strongest for people with less than a high school education (early life stimulating environments), constituting a moderating compensatory leveling effect rather than an added protection effect. Regarding mediation, we find no evidence of a cumulative (dis)advantage effect in the context of cognitive aging. Overall, this study presents a useful theoretical framework to study the interplay of cognitively stimulating environments across the life course.