Primary Submission Category: Aging
“Kinlessness” and Cognitive Function among European Older Adults
Authors: Christine Mair Katherine Ornstein
Presenting Author: Christine Mair*
Due to declines in fertility and marriage/partnership, older adults who are unpartnered and childless (so-called “kinless”) are growing globally and may be at higher risk for social isolation and cognitive decline. Furthermore, the risk of “kinlessness” likely varies by country context (economic, policy, culture, etc.). Yet, the cognitive health of “kinless” is virtually unstudied. Although there is a wealth of research about the protective power of social connectedness and partnership in promoting cognitive health, it is unknown if a) “kinless” (no partner, no child) are higher risk than “unpartnered” (no partner, yes child), b) if “kinless” are at higher risk, even if they are highly socially connected, and c) if and how these patterns vary across country contexts. To address these questions, we analyze associations between family structure (presence and absence of partner and child) and cognitive outcomes (executive function and immediate recall) as well as the potential moderating effect of social connectedness (scale, 0 to 4) and country context (GDP) using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) data (N=64,685 aged 65+; pre-pandemic observation period 2015-2017). Unpartnered older adults are a higher risk of cognitive decline, but being both unpartnered and childless (“kinless”) is highest risk. Although “kinless” are at higher risk cognitively, this disparity disappears when “kinless” are highly socially connected. Yet, the protective power of social connectedness for “kinless” is observed only in middle-income countries. In lower GDP countries, family structure and social connectedness operate differently and all older adults in these contexts are at higher risk of cognitive decline, regardless of family structure. We discuss these findings considering the need for multidisciplinary action in research and policy toward the growing global population of those aging “kinless” in different country contexts.