Coping strategies mediate the relation between executive functions and life satisfaction in middle and late adulthood: A structural equational analysis

Author

Hui Si OH, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
Hwajin YANG, Singapore Management UniversityFollow

Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

5-2022

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that executive functions (EF) predict life satisfaction for older adults. However, the mechanism is not known. By analyzing a sample (N = 3,287, ages 32- 84 years) from the Midlife Development in the United States 2, we examined the mediational role of coping strategies in the relation between EF and life satisfaction. Both active coping and behavioral disengagement mediated the relation between EF and life satisfaction, and age significantly moderated the mediational pathways. Specifically, the positive effect of EF on active coping was more pronounced in middle-aged and older adults than in young adults. However, the negative effect of EF on behavioral disengagement was apparent only in older adults, disappeared in middle-aged adults and reversed in younger adults. Our findings underscore EF as crucial cognitive resources that facilitate the adoption of healthy coping strategies, which in turn, affect life satisfaction in middle and late adulthood.

Keywords

Executive function, subjective well-being, coping strategies, middle and late adulthood

Discipline

Applied Behavior Analysis | Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Social Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition

Volume

29

Issue

5

First Page

761

Last Page

780

ISSN

1382-5585

Identifier

10.1080/13825585.2021.1917502

Publisher

Taylor and Francis

Embargo Period

6-1-2021

Citation

OH, Hui Si, & YANG, Hwajin.(2022). Coping strategies mediate the relation between executive functions and life satisfaction in middle and late adulthood: A structural equational analysis. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 29(5), 761-780.

Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3310

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Additional URL

https://doi.org/ 10.1080/13825585.2021.1917502