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Gender, Personality, and Cognitive Resilience Against Early-Life Disadvantage

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  • Joseph L Saenz
  • Sadaf Arefi Milani
  • Silvia Mejía-Arango

Abstract

ObjectivesEarly-life disadvantage (ELD) relates to lower late-life cognition. However, personality factors, including having an internal locus of control (LOC) or a conscientious personality, relate to resilience and effective stress coping. We explore whether personality factors convey resilience against the negative effects of ELD on cognition, by gender, in Mexico.MethodsUsing the 2015 Mexican Health and Aging Study, we estimated expected cognition using multiple ELD markers to identify a subsample in the lowest quartile of expected cognition given ELD (n = 2,086). In this subsample, we estimated cross-sectional associations between personality and having above-median observed cognitive ability (n = 522) using logistic regression.ResultsAmong those in the lowest quartile of expected cognition, a more internal LOC (β = 0.32 [men] and β = 0.44 [women]) and conscientious personality (β = 0.39 [men] and β = 0.17 [women]) were significantly associated with having above-median cognitive ability in models adjusted for demographic confounders. Larger benefits of conscientiousness were observed for men than women. Associations between personality and having above-median cognitive ability remained statistically significant after further adjustment for health, stress, and cognitive stimulation variables, regardless of gender.DiscussionPersonality factors may convey resilience among individuals who experienced ELD, potentially breaking the link between ELD and worse late-life cognition. Structural factors and gender roles may affect how much women benefit from personality factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph L Saenz & Sadaf Arefi Milani & Silvia Mejía-Arango, 2023. "Gender, Personality, and Cognitive Resilience Against Early-Life Disadvantage," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 78(5), pages 913-924.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:78:y:2023:i:5:p:913-924.
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    1. Dale Dannefer, 2003. "Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage and the Life Course: Cross-Fertilizing Age and Social Science Theory," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(6), pages 327-337.
    2. Kathryn E. Flynn & Maureen A. Smith, 2007. "Personality and Health Care Decision-Making Style," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 62(5), pages 261-267.
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