Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Sep;23(5):591-608.
doi: 10.1080/13825585.2015.1132669. Epub 2016 Jan 25.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of everyday memory lapses in older adults

Courtney McAlister  1 , Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe  1
Affiliations

Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of everyday memory lapses in older adults

Courtney McAlister et al. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn. 2016 Sep.

Abstract

Everyday memory lapses experienced by older adults (OAs) were examined using a daily-diary checklist and retrospective questionnaire. In Experiment 1, 138 younger and 138 OAs indicated the frequency of forgetting of 16 memory lapses, and whether each occurred daily during the course of a week. OAs reported more memory lapses on the questionnaire, but not the daily diary. OAs reported more frequently forgetting names and words, while younger adults had more difficulty with appointments and personal dates. Fewer memory lapses on the daily diary were related to better performance on a laboratory-memory measure for OAs. In Experiment 2, 62 OAs returned for a five-year follow-up and endorsed experiencing more memory lapses on the daily diary compared to baseline, specifically forgetting more names and words, but not the retrospective questionnaire. Daily checklist memory lapses again correlated with the laboratory-memory measure. A daily checklist may be a viable way to assess everyday memory lapses.

Keywords: Aging; cognition; daily diary; memory; memory complaints.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adams-Price CE, Gonzales C. The Memory Failure Cause Recall Interview: A phenomenological study of memory failures in younger and older adults. Cognitive Technology. 2005;10(2):33–39.
    1. American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th edition, text revision Author; Washington, DC: 2000.
    1. Broadbent DE, Cooper PF, Fitzgerald P, Parkes KR. The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and its correlates. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1982;21:1–16. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8260.1982.tb01421.x. - PubMed
    1. Burmester B, Leathem J, Merrick P. Assessing subjective memory complaints: A comparison of spontaneous reports and structured questionnaire methods. International Psychogeriatrics. 2015;27(1):61–77. doi:10.1017/S1041610214001161. - PubMed
    1. Cavanaugh JC, Grady JG, Perlmutter M. Forgetting and use of memory aids in 20 to 70 year olds everyday life. International Journal of Aging and Human Development. 1983;17(2):113–122. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources