ERIC Number: EJ1434400
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-0419
EISSN: EISSN-1532-6934
Participatory and Receptive Arts Engagement in Older Adults: Associations with Cognition over a Seven-Year Period
Creativity Research Journal, v36 n3 p436-450 2024
There is growing evidence for the impact of arts engagement on later life cognition. However, confounding by socioeconomic factors may have led to an overestimation of this association. We analyzed data from 4,344 older adults in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We measured participatory (e.g. painting, making music, crafts) and receptive (e.g. concert, play, museum) arts engagement separately. Participants completed six neurocognitive tests measuring two distinct domains of cognitive function (episodic/working memory and executive function/language) concurrently and seven years later. We used inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) to remove confounding by a range of demographic and socioeconomic factors. Engaging in participatory or receptive arts for up to one hour per week (but not more frequently) was associated with better subsequent executive function/language. Similarly, engaging in receptive arts activities for up to three hours per week (but not more frequently) was associated with better subsequent episodic/working memory. These effects were of similar sizes to doing vigorous physical activity for up to one hour per week. However, our findings also highlight key methodological issues when exploring the relationship between arts engagement and cognition that should be considered in future studies, including measurement bias, life-course stage, length of follow-up, variation in outcomes, attrition, and missing data.
Descriptors: Older Adults, Short Term Memory, Handicrafts, Creative Activities, Painting (Visual Arts), Music Activities, Museums, Theater Arts, Longitudinal Studies, Influences
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute on Aging (NIA) (DHHS/NIH); National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Wisconsin
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01AG009775; R01AG033285; R01AG060737; 186289638C20