Findings From the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project: Individual Differences, Well-Being, and Cognition

Abstract The Virginia Cognitive Aging Project (VCAP) is a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of cognitive functioning in a large sample of healthy community-dwelling adults between the ages of18-99 years (Salthouse,2009). Data are collected on several domains of cognitive functioning and subjective ratings of cognition, as well as a myriad of individual difference characteristics including self-reports of physical activity, cognitive activity, social support, personality, well-being, and affective measures. This symposium focuses on findings from VCAP that examine cross-sectional and longitudinal links between individual difference characteristics, indicators of well-being, and objective and subjective cognition. These topics include the cross-sectional assessment of >5,000 participants on the mediating role of Need for Cognition on the relationship between cognition and well-being (Yazdani & Siedlecki) and the relationship between social support and ratings of subjective cognition (Mueller & Minahan). Jung uses cross-lagged analyses to assess temporal relationships between physical and cognitive activity and cognition. Falzarano et al. present findings regarding the longitudinal relationship between subjective and objective measures of cognition. Finally, Minahan and Siedlecki present findings examining the temporal relationship between ratings of loneliness and depression over time. The symposium provides insights into the complex role of individual differences characteristics and cognitive functioning across the adult lifespan.


PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE ACTIVITIES OF THE VA HOME-BASED PRIMARY CARE PROGRAM AROUND THE FALL 2017 HURRICANE SEASON
Tamar Wyte-Lake, 1 Claudia Der-Martirosian, 2 and Aram Dobalian, 2 1. US Department of Veterans Affairs,North Hills,California,United States,2. Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center,North Hills,California,United States Individuals aged seventy-five or older, who often present with multiple comorbidities and decreased functional status, typically prefer to age in their homes. Additionally, as in-home medical equipment evolves, more medically vulnerable individuals can receive care at home. Concomitantly, large-scale natural disasters disproportionally affect both the medically complex and the older old, two patient groups responsible for most medical surge after a disaster. To understand how to ameliorate this surge, we examined the activities of the nine US Department of Veterans Affairs Home-Based Primary Care programs during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. These and similar programs under Medicare connect the homebound to the healthcare community. Study findings support early implementation of preparedness procedures and intense post-Hurricane patient tracking as a means of limiting reductions in care and preventing significant disruptions to patient health. Engaging with home-based primary care programs during disasters is central to bolstering community resilience for these at-risk populations. Most would agree that older adults represent a highly vulnerable group prior to, during and post disaster. Age-related vulnerabilities often lead into an increased risk for traumatic experiences and post-traumatic stress symptoms after a disaster. Trauma informed principles offer a possible way to reduce the vulnerability of older adults after a disaster. For example, utilizing the trauma informed question "what has happened to you" shifts the focus from a deficit approach and allows for a deeper understanding of the impact of traumatic life experiences on current functioning and reaction to the disaster. It is this understanding of trauma's impact that may have a role in how older adult disaster survivors view, respond, and recover after a natural disaster (Seery et.al. 2010;Iacoviello & Charney, 2014). In addition, understanding the role of lifetime adversity provides critical insights for disaster planning, reducing vulnerability and promoting resilience among older disaster survivors.

FINDINGS FROM THE VIRGINIA COGNITIVE AGING PROJECT: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, WELL-BEING, AND COGNITION Chair: Karen Siedlecki
GSA 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting Innovation in Aging, 2020, Vol. 4, No. S1 The Virginia Cognitive Aging Project (VCAP) is a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of cognitive functioning in a large sample of healthy community-dwelling adults between the ages of18-99 years (Salthouse,2009). Data are collected on several domains of cognitive functioning and subjective ratings of cognition, as well as a myriad of individual difference characteristics including self-reports of physical activity, cognitive activity, social support, personality, well-being, and affective measures. This symposium focuses on findings from VCAP that examine cross-sectional and longitudinal links between individual difference characteristics, indicators of well-being, and objective and subjective cognition. These topics include the cross-sectional assessment of >5,000 participants on the mediating role of Need for Cognition on the relationship between cognition and well-being (Yazdani & Siedlecki) and the relationship between social support and ratings of subjective cognition (Mueller & Minahan). Jung uses cross-lagged analyses to assess temporal relationships between physical and cognitive activity and cognition. Falzarano et al. present findings regarding the longitudinal relationship between subjective and objective measures of cognition. Finally, Minahan and Siedlecki present findings examining the temporal relationship between ratings of loneliness and depression over time.
The symposium provides insights into the complex role of individual differences characteristics and cognitive functioning across the adult lifespan. One potential mechanism may be individuals' need for cognition, or the dispositional tendency to enjoy and engage in effortful cognitive activities (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982). Analyses were conducted to examine need for cognition as a mediator of the relationship between five domains of cognition (episodic memory, processing speed, reasoning, spatial visualization, and vocabulary) and four dimensions of subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and depressive symptomatology) cross-sectionally in a large sample of healthy adults between the ages of 18-99. Results indicate that need for cognition partially mediates the relationship between all five domains of cognition and life satisfaction, negative affect, and depressive symptomatology, but does not mediate the relationship between cognition and positive affect.

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL SUPPORT ON SUBJECTIVE COGNITION ACROSS ADULTHOOD
Annalee Mueller, 1 Jillian Minahan, 1 and Karen Siedlecki, 2 1. Fordham University,Bronx,New York,United States,2. Fordham University,New York,New York,United States Increased age is associated with declines in objective cognition (OC). A related but distinct construct is subjective cognition (SC), which is an individual's self-appraisal of their OC. Research shows that SC impairment is an important precursor to declines in OC (Sánchez-Benavidez et al., 2018). Research has also demonstrated a positive relationship between OC and social support (SS) across adulthood (La Fleur & Salthouse, 2017), but there is limited research on the relationship between SC and SS. Participants (N = 1,873; age range 18-99) from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project completed assessments of multiple domains of SC, OC, and SS. Results from the current study showed a consistent, significant association between negative interactions with others and poorer SC (Betas ranged from -.077 to .103, p < .05), beyond the influence of sociodemographic, well-being, and health factors. Our findings suggest that negative interactions may adversely impact one's self-appraisal of cognitive functioning.

TEMPORAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACTIVITY ENGAGEMENT AND COGNITION
Seojung Jung, 1 and Karen Siedlecki, 2 1. SUNY College at Old Westbury,Old Westbury,New York,United States,2. Fordham University,New York,New York,United States Previous studies have shown that activity engagement is related to cognitive function. However, few studies have examined the temporal order between activity engagement and various domains of cognition. Using data from the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project (baseline N =5430, Mage =51.28, SD =18.12), we examined the temporal relationships between engagement in physical and cognitive activity and different cognitive domains (reasoning, spatial visualization, episodic memory, processing speed, vocabulary) after controlling for age, education, self-rated health and depression. Cross-lagged panel analyses indicate that very few of the temporal relationships between activity level and cognition were significant except higher levels of cognitive activity significantly predicted better future processing speed, but not the reverse. Findings suggest the importance of engaging in cognitively stimulating activities, which help adults preserve processing speed over time. This study also highlights the importance of longitudinal design on various domains of cognition to help develop domain-specific interventions.

INVESTIGATING THE LONGITUDINAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUBJECTIVE COGNITIVE COMPLAINTS AND OBJECTIVE COGNITION
Francesca Falzarano, 1 Karen Siedlecki, 2 and Jillian Minahan, 3 1. Weill Cornell Medicine,New York,New York,United States,2. Fordham University,New York,New York,United States,3. Fordham University,Bronx,New York,United States Research examining the relationship between subjective cognitive complaints and objective cognitive performance has been mixed. Despite the lack of clear evidence demonstrating an association, subjective cognitive complaints are used as a criterion for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and is considered a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Cross-lagged panel analyses were used in the current study to examine the longitudinal relationships between subjective cognitive complaints (using the Memory Functioning Questionnaire) and objective cognition (e.g., reasoning, memory, spatial visualization, processing speed, and vocabulary) in healthy adults