Psychological pathways linking social networks to verbal fluency decline: Implications for Black‐White cognitive disparities

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundGrowing literature has identified social networks (SN) as a naturally occurring, modifiable resource for cognitive health. Less is understood about psychological mechanisms through which SN factors influence cognition and whether SN factors play a role in racial cognitive disparities in the US. This study 1) investigated prospective associations between SN factors and changes in verbal fluency; and 2) examined the mediating roles of loneliness and depressive symptoms in the SN‐verbal fluency link among diverse older adults.MethodParticipants were 455 non‐Hispanic Black (NHB) and White (NHW) older adults (Mage = 63.6; 53% Black) from the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project (MCAP), a community‐based, racially balanced, longitudinal study of Black and White adults transitioning to late life in Southeast Michigan. At baseline, participants completed neuropsychological assessments in person and were followed up via telephone two years later. Marital status, living arrangement, network size, network composition, and relationship quality (support and strain) were queried at baseline. We used latent difference score modeling to analyze how SN factors are associated with changes in verbal fluency. Next, a sequential mediation model was used to test for mediating pathways via loneliness and depression.ResultBeing married, larger network size, higher support, and lower strain were each uniquely linked to shallower declines in verbal fluency via lower loneliness and depressive symptoms. Independent of these psychological mediators, having a higher proportion of friends in one’s network was directly linked to shallower declines in verbal fluency. Compared to White participants, Black participants reported a lower proportion of friends and were more likely to have never been married, but they also reported less loneliness.ConclusionOur findings suggest that loneliness and depression represent a psychological stress pathway linking some, but not all, SN features to cognitive decline. Further, Black‐White differences provide evidence of both risk and resilience. Racial disparities in verbal fluency decline were partially explained by a lower proportion of friends (risk) but were partially offset by lower loneliness (resilience) among Black adults. This study highlights the multi‐faceted nature of SN and differential pathways by which SN factors shape cognitive health across racial groups.