Psychological well-being in cognitively intact adults aged 80+: Findings from the SuperAging Research Initiative

Abstract

Aspects of psychological well-being have shown positive relationships with cognitive aging and may support memory resilience. To explore this hypothesis, psychological well-being was assessed in SuperAgers (individuals with exceptional memory for age; n = 98) and cognitively-average-for-age Controls (“Controls,” n = 128), all aged 80+ and enrolled in the multisite, longitudinal SuperAging Research Initiative. Psychological well-being was measured using the NIH Toolbox®-Emotion Battery (NIHTB-EB). Emotional well-being was characterized in SuperAgers and Controls, and associations with cognitive group and demographic characteristics were examined using ordinary least squares regression models. Both SuperAgers and Controls reported generally favorable psychosocial profiles, with several individual NIHTB-EB dimension scores directionally favorable relative to the general adult reference mean. Within this cognitively intact cohort, SuperAger status was not associated with differences in NIHTB-EB summary scores or individual dimensions relative to Controls, suggesting that positive emotional functioning may be a shared feature of successful aging. Across participants, age showed modest associations with select social–emotional outcomes, including friendship and emotional support. This study extends prior characterization of the SuperAging phenotype and identifies generally favorable self-reported psychosocial functioning among cognitively intact and cognitively exceptional adults aged 80+, supporting psychosocial well-being as a potential common resilience factor in late life.

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