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. 2020 Jun 2;75(6):e69-e77.
doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbz006.

Executive Function and Subjective Well-being in Middle and Late Adulthood

Wei Xing Toh  1 , Hwajin Yang  1 , Andree Hartanto  1
Affiliations

Executive Function and Subjective Well-being in Middle and Late Adulthood

Wei Xing Toh et al. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. .

Abstract

Objectives: A growing body of research has investigated psychosocial predictors of subjective well-being (SWB), a key component of healthy aging, which comprises life satisfaction and affective well-being. However, few studies have examined how executive function (EF)-a collection of adaptive, goal-directed control processes-could affect SWB in middle and late adulthood.

Methods: By analyzing a nationally representative adult cohort ranging from the early 30s to early 80s from the Midlife Development in the United States 2 study, we examined two potential mediators (i.e., sense of control vs positive reappraisal) that could underlie the relation between EF and SWB. Further, we assessed how these mediational pathways would differ across midlife and older adulthood.

Results: Our results revealed that sense of control, but not positive reappraisal, significantly mediated the relation between EF and life satisfaction and affective well-being. Moreover, these mediation effects were significantly moderated by age, with more pronounced effects among older adults.

Discussion: We found that EF in later adulthood facilitates a sense of control over obstacles that interfere with the attainment of goals, which in turn is associated with greater life satisfaction and positive affect. This underscores the role of EF as an increasingly valuable resource that buffers against declines in sense of control and SWB in late adulthood.

Keywords: Executive function; Positive reappraisal; Sense of control; Subjective well-being.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Parallel mediation models with sense of control and positive reappraisal as mediators for life satisfaction (top panel) and affective balance (bottom panel). a1 and b1 signify indirect effects for sense of control, whereas a2 and b2 denote indirect effects for positive reappraisal; c and c′ reflect total and direct effects, respectively. All values represent unstandardized regression coefficients with standard errors in parentheses. *p < .05; **p < .001.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mediation models with personal mastery (top panel) and perceived constraints (bottom panel) as mediators for life satisfaction. a1 and b1 signify indirect effects, whereas c and c′ reflect total and direct effects, respectively. All values represent unstandardized regression coefficients with standard errors in parentheses. *p < .05; **p < .001.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Mediation models with personal mastery (top panel) and perceived constraints (bottom panel) as mediators for affective balance. a1 and b1 signify indirect effects, whereas c and c′ reflect total and direct effects, respectively. All values represent unstandardized regression coefficients with standard errors in parentheses. *p < .05; **p < .001
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