Life Course Socioeconomic Determinants of Early Adulthood Cognition

Max Reason , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Allison Aiello, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Daniel W. Belsky, Duke University
Kathleen Mullan Harris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Moira Johnson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Katsuya Oi, Northern Arizona University
Brenda Plassman, Duke University
Yang Claire Yang, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Both short-term and working memory are important measures of cognitive ability and Alzheimer’s disease risk. According the Cognitive Reserve Hypothesis, growing up in an advantaged household, higher educational attainment, mentally complex work, and greater economic capital are all considered “stimulating environments” that can protect against the deterioration of memory. While extensive work has been done in samples of older individuals, the impact of exposure to these stimulating environments on memory ability in early adulthood remains to be explored. Using a nationally representative sample of adults between 24 and 32, this study investigates the effect of exposure to stimulating environments in childhood and adulthood on short-term and working memory. Preliminary results indicate that higher education, having a job with non-repetitive tasks, and greater income are all independently associated with better memory ability in early adulthood. There was also an independent positive effect of having a parent with the college degree.

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 Presented in Session 6. Health & Mortality & Aging