Psychological transition and adjustment processes related to retirement: influence on cognitive functioning

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between psychological transition and adjustment to retirement and cognitive performances in older adults.

Methods: The study's sample was taken from the Approche Multidisciplinaire Intégrée cohort, a French prospective study of retirees from agriculture, aged 65 and over, living in rural settings in southwestern France. The cross-sectional analyses were conducted on a sample of 590 elderly people without dementia at baseline and for whom information on perception of the work setting, experience of the retirement transition and adaptation to retirement life (nine variables) as well as neuropsychological measures (global cognitive functioning, episodic memory, verbal fluency, attention and psychomotor speed) were available at first visit.

Results: Multivariable linear regression analyses, including nine variables related to retirement and adjusted for potential confounding factors, indicated that three of them - positive consideration of former work situation, development of new activities during retirement and good adaptation to free time - were associated with better cognitive performances.

Conclusions: We found that several factors proved to be determinants of good cognitive functioning at retirement and could serve as a basis for the development of more efficient intervention programs aimed at helping retirees to maintain good cognitive functioning after retirement.

Keywords: Aging; adjustment to retirement; cognition; psychological transition processes; retirement.