'It is nothing more than a senior moment': the moderating role of subjective age in the effect of change in memory on self-rated memory.

OBJECTIVE: The association between memory performance and self-rated memory is yet to be understood. More specifically, little is known about the factors that lie at the base of self-evaluations of memory in relation to actual changes in memory. In this study, we suggest that subjective age modifies the effect of objective change in memory on self-rated memory. METHOD: We used two waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 4624) to examine whether subjective age moderates the effect of experienced changes in memory between T1 and T2 on self-rated memory at T2. RESULTS: Our results suggest that subjective age is a significant moderator of the effect of change in memory on self-rated memory. The effect is weaker among those with younger subjective age, and stronger for those with older subjective age. CONCLUSION: While preserving a young subjective age is usually considered an adaptive strategy, it also has potential negative effects, masking changes in memory performance.

Leisure-Time Physical Activity, Subjective Age, and Self-Rated Memory in Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

Memory concerns are common in middle-aged and older adults. This study investigated the relation of leisure-time physical activity to self-rated memory and the possible mediating role of subjective age in this relationship in middle-aged and older adults. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted with a sample of 1,608 middle-aged and older adults from the second wave of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS2). In a path analysis conducted with Mplus, a higher level of leisure-time physical activity was associated with a more positive appraisal of memory compared to others of one's age; younger subjective age partially mediated this relationship. Neither gender nor age-group moderated the association. Age, race, education, marital status, health status, and negative affect were controlled for in the analyses. These findings suggest a possible role of physical activity in countering the effects of age stereotypes on perceived memory.

Older adults with poor self-rated memory have less depressive symptoms and better memory performance when perceived self-efficacy is high.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether self-efficacy moderates the association between self-rated memory and depressive symptoms in a large sample of older adults. The influence of self-efficacy and depressive symptoms on memory performance was also examined in a subsample of individuals who reported poor memory. METHODS: Non-demented participants (n = 3766) were selected from the 2012 wave of the Health and Retirement Study. Depressive symptomatology was assessed with the 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. A modified version of the Midlife Developmental Inventory Questionnaire was used as the measure of self-efficacy. Participants were asked to rate their memory presently on a five-point scale from Excellent (1) to Poor (5). Immediate memory and delayed memory (after a 5-min interval) were measured by the number of correct words recalled from a 10-item word list. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses revealed that negative ratings of memory were significantly associated with greater levels of depressive symptoms, with this effect being greatest in those with low levels of self-efficacy. Additionally, greater self-efficacy was associated with optimal objective memory performances but only when depressive symptoms were low in individuals who reported poor memory function (n = 1196). CONCLUSION: Self-efficacy moderates the relationship between self-rated memory function and depressive symptoms. Higher self-efficacy may buffer against the impact of subjective memory difficulty on one's mood and thereby mitigating the effect of depressive symptoms on memory. Interventions should focus on increasing perceived self-efficacy in older adults reporting poor memory function to potentially minimize memory impairment.

The Relationship Between Multimorbidity and Types of Chronic Diseases and Self-Rated Memory.

This study explores the impact of multimorbidity and types of chronic diseases on self-rated memory in older adults in the United States. Data were drawn from the 2011 wave of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS, N = 6,481). Logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between multimorbidity and types of chronic diseases and fair/poor self-rated memory. Compared to respondents with no or one chronic disease, respondents with multimorbidity showed 35% higher odds of reporting fair/poor self-rated memory. Also, stroke, osteoporosis, and arthritis were identified as increasing the odds of reporting fair/poor self-rated memory by 41%, 20%, and 30%, respectively. Demonstrating the importance of both multimorbidity and types of chronic diseases in self-reporting of memory, our findings suggest the need to educate older adults with multimorbidity and certain types of diseases regarding negative self-rated memory and its consequences.

Validity of Self-Rated Memory Among Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults: Results From the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).

Memory self-ratings are often used in primary care practice and social surveys due to its relative ease of administration. Yet their usefulness to accurately measure individuals' memory-related cognitive function is largely unknown. This article assesses the construct validity of self-rated memory for measuring memory-related cognitive function among middle-aged and older adults (45+ years) in China using a national sample (N = 13,690) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We first compare self-rated memory with a number of well-established memory tests and then investigate the role of sociodemographic factors in determining self-reports conditional on memory test performance. We find that self-rated memory is only weakly correlated with memory test performance and yields low sensitivity and specificity in detecting individuals with relatively poor memory test performance. We also find evidence for substantial differential item functioning across sociodemographic groups. Our results, therefore, caution against the use of simple self-rated memory measures for memory assessments in primary care or survey research.