TITLE:
Positively Worded Subscale Score of the Perceived Stress Scale Is Associated with Cognitive Domain Function
AUTHORS:
Julie M. Jiang, Elizabeth K. Seng, Molly E. Zimmerman, Mimi Kim, Richard B. Lipto
KEYWORDS:
Perceived Stress Scale, Cognitive Domain Function, Cross-Sectional, Perceived Stress Scale Subscales
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science,
Vol.7 No.7,
July
24,
2017
ABSTRACT: Objectives: To
examine the cross-sectional associations of the separate subscales of the
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and tests measuring cognitive domains in older
adults. Methods: 897 adults over the age of 70 free of amnestic mild
cognitive impairment and dementia and enrolled in the Einstein Aging Study made
up the study sample. The PSS-14 was used to measure stress. Three cognitive
domains (language, episodic memory, and frontal-executive) had previously been
found using principle component analysis. Linear regression analyses were used
to determine the relationship between the PSS subscales and cognitive domain
function. Results: The study sample had a mean age of 79.1 years and
62.8% were female. Bivariate correlations show that the PSS-14 positively
worded subscale of the PSS (PSS-PW) was significantly associated with all three
cognitive domains (language: r = -0.15, p Conclusion: Worse PSS-PW scores are associated with reduced
cognitive function in the executive, memory, and language domains in
nondemented older adults. The PSS-PW subscale correlated better with cognitive
function than the overall PSS-14. Future research should evaluate the
temporality of the association and if stress reduction therapies improve
cognitive performance.