Can Creativity and Cognitive Reserve Predict Psychological Well-Being in Older Adults? The Role of Divergent Thinking in Healthy Aging

Abstract

The maintenance of psychological well-being (PWB) in the older adult population is a pivotal goal for our rapidly aging society. PWB is a multicomponent construct that can be influenced by several factors in the lifespan. The beneficial role of divergent thinking (DT) and cognitive reserve (CR) in sustaining older subjects’ PWB has been scarcely investigated so far. The present study aims to investigate the relationships between DT, CR, and PWB in a sample of 121 healthy older adults (61 females; M age: 73.39 ± 6.66 years; M education: 11.33 ± 4.81 years). The results highlight that better DT performance predicts higher CR, which mediates an indirect positive effect of DT on emotional competence, one of the PWB factors. It follows that DT and CR can be considered protective factors in aging, and their effects go beyond cognitive functioning, revealing a positive effect even on some PWB components. The practical implications regarding targeted health interventions for prevention in the older adult population to support well-being and promote healthy aging are discussed.

A State-of-the-Art Review on the Role of Cognitive and Motor Reserve on Quality of Life: A Focus on Cardiovascular Patients in a Lifespan Perspective

“…The relationship between CR and the psychological framework is less explored. Recent findings, in line with the previous literature, have shown a positive influence of CR on perceived psychological well-being in healthy older adults [37], thereby indicating that people with more years of work accumulated, who have held jobs requiring more cognitive and behavioral flexibility and are involved in diversified free time activities, perceive better coping strategies and have higher emotional competences. Another recent work by Porricelli and colleagues [38] explored the relationship between CR and mental health in healthy adults, and it showed that higher levels of CR corresponded to greater mental health when considering measures of anxiety, depression and stress.…”