EFFECTS OF DESEGREGATION ON COGNITIVE AGING IN BLACKS

Pennsylvania State University-Univ Park, University Park PA

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Abstract

Conventional wisdom suggests that decline in cognitive functioning is a prevalent and pervasive aspect of the normal aging process for all older adults. However, research concerning intellectual abilities in late life shows that differential life experiences, personality factors, chronic illness, and poor health produce different patterns and sources of individual variation in cognitive aging. One of the single most influential factors on current and future cognitive functioning is educational attainment. A critical historical event that may have produced considerable variability in cognitive functioning was the racial desegregation of schools. This event was the impetus for variability in both the quantity and quality of educational experiences for African Americans. The variability in this history graded event may represent an important contributor to what now surfaces as variability in the cognitive functioning of adult African Americans. The purpose of the proposed pilot study is to examine the potential effects of desegregation and current contextual factors related to socioeconomic status on the cognitive functioning of adult African Americans. The study will address the following questions: 1) What is the relationship between cognition and socioeconomic status indicators, particularly educational attainment, in African Americans? 2) Do qualitative educational factors influence the relationship between cognitive functioning and educational attainment in African Americans? 3) What is the relationship among cognition, educational attainment and literacy in African Americans? These questions will be addressed with data from interviews with 200 African Americans between the ages of 50 and 65 who live in the Baltimore, MD, area. During the interview, they will be asked questions about the characteristics of the school(s) they attended. In addition, assessments of their cognitive abilities and functional literacy will be completed.