Divided Attention in Older But Not Younger Adults Is Impaired by Anxiety (original) (raw)

2003, Experimental Aging Research

It has been hypothesized that the disruptive effects of negative emotional states, such as anxiety and depression, may contribute to poorer performance in older age (Yesavage et al., 1988; Deptula et al., 1993). Some studies have reported that higher levels of anxiety are associated with poorer cognitive performance in older adults but not younger adults (Cohen, 1980; Deptula, 1993, but see Jennings et al., 1989). We examined if age and anxiety interact with performance by comparing the performance of normal healthy younger and older adults on cognitive and motor tests under conditions of selective and divided attention. Ninety-two older adults (Mean age = 70.1 years, SD = 7.1) and 78 younger adults (Mean age = 18.8 years, SD = 1.9) matched on education, vocabulary, and self-reported health performed a word comparison and pursuit-rotor task under conditions of selective and divided attention. Anxiety was assessed using the Speilberger State-Trait anxiety scale (Speilberger, 1983). The hypothesis was supported: higher anxiety was associated with poorer divided attention performance in older-but not younger adults. Anxiety was not associated with poorer motor performance in older adults. Implications of the results for cognitive-resource theories of aging cognition are discussed. ANXIETY AND DIVIDED ATTENTION 4 Age-related decline in cognitive performance has been attributed to a number of factors including central nervous system (CNS) degeneration, decline in processing speed and attentional abilities, and lack of practice in performing cognitive tasks (cf. Salthouse 1994 for a review). It has also been hypothesized that the disruptive effects of negative emotional states, such as anxiety and depression, may contribute to poorer performance in older age (Yesavage et al, 1988; Deptula, 1993). Research suggests that anxiety and depression are often associated with impairment in memory (Henry et al, 1973; Depulta et al., 1991) and other cognitive functions (Knox et al, 1970; Gur et al, 1988), although under certain circumstances anxiety may facilitate performance (Spielberger, 1962). In a review of the effects of anxiety on performance, Humphreys & Revelle (1984) suggest that high anxiety can facilitate performance on easy tasks or when the feedback is positive, but can hinder performance on difficult tasks or when the feedback is negative. While the relation between anxiety and performance on cognitive tasks has been well studied in the young, there are relatively few studies on this topic among older persons, and even fewer studies that have compared younger and older groups. Cohen et al. (1980) reported that whereas high trait anxiety was associated with augmentation of performance in younger subjects on a test of reasoning, higher levels of trait anxiety were associated with poorer performance on the same test in an older group. Cohen concluded that older persons may be more vulnerable than the young to the deleterious effects of 'negative' emotional states on performance. Deptula et al. (1993) examined the relation between emotional states (self-rated depression, anxiety, and withdrawal) and performance on a memory task in groups of normal young adults and normal older individuals. It was hypothesized that the older