This study focused on the association between aspects of emotional and cognitive functioning and two stages of the disablement process model, functional limitations, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) disability. The age- and sex-stratfied sample aged 55 to 89 years consisted of 100 inhabitants of a small Dutch town who scored 24 or higher on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). Controlling for background factors (health problems, age, education, and gender), depressive symptoms and fluid intelligence were independently associated with functional limitations. Of the cognitive functions, only everyday memory was independently associated with IADL disability. Emotional functioning was not independently associated with IADL disability. These findings expand on the disablement process model and demonstrate the importance of emotional functioning, fluid intelligence, and everyday memory for the disablement process.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arts, C. H. , Hommel, A.A.C., Felling, A.J.A., & Knipscheer, C.P.M. (1989). Ouderen geprofileerd. Meetinstrumenten ten behoeve van het gemeentelijk ouderenbeleid [Older persons in profile. Measurement instruments for municipal policy on aging]. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Vrije Universiteit, Department of Sociology.
2.
Barberger-Gateau, P. , Chaslerie A., Dartigues, J-F., Commenges, D., Gagnon, M., & Salamon, R. (1992). Health measures correlates in a French elderly community population: The PAQUID study. Journal of Gerontology, 47, S88-S95.
3.
Beekman, A.T.F. , van Limbeek, J., Deeg, D.J.H., Wouters, L., & van Tilburg, W. (1994). Een screenings instrument voor depressie bij Nederlandse ouderen in de algemene bevolking: De bruikbaarheid van de Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) [Screening for depression in the elderly in the community: Using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) in the Netherlands]. Tijdschrift voor Gerontologie en Geriatrie, 25, 95-103.
4.
Chappell, N. L. (1981). Measuring functional ability and chronic health conditions among the elderly: A research note on the adequacy of three instruments. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 90-102.
5.
Cockburn, J. , Smith, P. T., & Wade, D. T. (1990). Influence of cognitive function on social, domestic, and leisure activities of community dwelling older people. International Disability Studies, 12, 169-172.
6.
Crook, T. H. , & Larabee, G. J. (1988). Interrelationships between everyday memory tests: Stability of factor structure with age. Neuropsychology, 2, 1-12.
7.
Deeg, D.J.H. (1993). Sex differences in IADL in the Netherlands: Functional and situational disability. In J.-M. Robine, C. D. Mathers, M. R. Bone, & I. Romieu (Eds.), Calculation of health expectancies: Harmonization, consensus achieved and future perpectives. Colloque INSERM 226, 203-213. London: John Libbey Eurotext.
8.
Deeg, D.J.H. , & Smit, J. H. (1993). Zelfstandigheid van ouderen in Sassenheim. Verslag van het proefonderzoek van de Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam [Autonomy of older persons in Sassenheim. Report of the pilot study of the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam to the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs]. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Vrije Universiteit, Department of Psychiatry and Department of Sociology and Social Gerontology.
9.
Deelman, B. G. , Brouwer, W. H., van Zomeren, A. H., & Saan, R. J. (1980). Functiestoornissen na trauma capitis [Function disorders after trauma capitis]. In A. Jennekens-Schinkel, J. J. Diamant, H.F.A. Diesfeldt, & R. Haaxma (Eds.), Neuropsychologie in Nederland [Neuropsychology in the Netherlands]. Deventer, the Netherlands: Van Loghum Slaterus.
10.
Erickson, R. C. , Poon, L. W., & Walsh-Sweeney, L. (1980). Clinical memory testing of the elderly. In L. W. Poon, J. L. Fozard, L. S. Cermak, D. Arenberg, & L. W. Thompson (Eds.), New directions in memory and aging. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
11.
Folstein, M. , Anthony, J. C., Parhad, A., Duffy, B., & Gruenberg, E. M. (1985). The meaning of cognitive impairment in the elderly. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 33, 228-235.
12.
Folstein, M. F. , Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975). "Mini-mental state': A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinicians. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189-198.
13.
Fried, L. P. , Ettinger, W. H., Lind, B., Newman, A. B., & Gardin, J. (1994). Physical disability in older adults: A physiological approach. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 47, 747-760.
14.
Gurland, B. J. (1983). The mind and mood of aging. New York: Haworth Press.
15.
Harris, T. , Kovar, M. G., Suzman, R., Kleinman, J. C., & Feldman, J. J. (1989). Longitudinal study of physical ability in the oldest-old. American Journal of Public Health, 79, 698-702.
16.
Johnson, R. J. , & Wolinsky, F. D. (1993). The structure of health status among older adults: Disease, disability, functional limitation, and perceived health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 34, 105-121.
17.
Kempen, G.I.J.M. , & Suurmeyer, T.P.B.M. (1990). The development of a hierarchical polychotomous ADL-IADL scale for non-institutionalized elders. The Gerontologist, 30, 497-502.
18.
Kennedy, G. J. , Kelman, H. R., Wisniewsky, W., Metz, H., & Bijur, P. (1989). Hierarchy of characteristics associated with depressive symptoms in an urban elderly sample. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 220-225.
19.
Kliegl, R. , Smith, J., & Baltes, P. B. (1989). Testing the limits and the study of adult age differences in cognitive plasticity of a mnemonic skill. Developmental Psychology, 25, 247-256.
20.
Laukkanen, P. , Kauppinen, M., Era, P., & Heikkinen, E. (1993). Factors related to coping with physical and instrumental activities of daily living among people born in 1904-1923. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 8, 287-296.
21.
Lezak, M. D. (1983). Neuropsychological assessment (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
22.
Meyer, B.J.K. , Young, C. J., & Bartlett, B. J. (1989). Memory proved: Reading and memory enhancement across the lifespan through strategic text structures. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
23.
Ormel, J. , VonKorif, M., Ustun, T. B., Pini, S., Korten, A., & Oldehinkel, T. (1994). Common mental disorders and disability across cultures. Results from the WHO Collaborative Study on Psychological Problems in General Health Care. Journal of the American Medical Association, 272, 1741-1748.
24.
Poon, L. W. , Martin, P., Clayton, G. M., Messner, S., Noble, C. A., & Johnson, M. A. (1992). The influence of cognitive resources on adaptation and old age. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 34, 31-46.
25.
Rabbitt, P.M.A. (1982). Development of methods to measure changes in activities of daily living in the elderly. In S. Corldnet al. (Eds.), Alzheimers's disease: A report of progress. New York: Raven.
26.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.
27.
Raven, J. C. (1984). Manual for the coloured progressive matrices (Rev. ed.). Windsor: NFER-Nelson.
28.
Savage, R. D. (1984). Alphabet Coding Task 15. Western Australia: Murdoch University.
29.
Smith, L. A. , Branch, L. G., Scherr, P. A., Wetle, T., Evans, D. E., Hebert L., & Taylor, J. O. (1990). Short-term variability of measures of physical function in older people. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 38, 993-998.
30.
van Sonsbeek, J.L.A. (1988). Methodische en inhoudelijke aspecten van de OESO-indicator betreffende langdurige beperldngen in het lichamelijk functioneren [Methodological and substantial aspects of the OECD indicator of chronic functional limitations]. Maandbericht Gezondheid [Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics], 88, 4-17.
31.
Verbrugge, L. M. , & Jette, A. M. (1994). The disablement process. Social Science and Medicine, 38(1), 1-14.
32.
Wilson, B. A. , Cockburn, J., & Baddeley, A. D. (1985). The Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test. Titchfield, UK: Thames Valley Test Co.
33.
Yesavage, J. , & Rose, T. (1984). The effects of a face-name mnemonic in young, middle-aged, and elderly adults. Experimental Aging Research, 10, 55-57.
