An Investigation Into the Role of Attributions of Discrimination and Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults

ObjectiveLimited research has explored how the attributions of discrimination in later life are related to cognitive functioning.MethodsWe analyzed responses from 12,279 adults ages 65+ in the 2008 to 2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Multilevel mixed models assessed whether cognitive functioning was associated with (1) everyday discrimination (without reference to attribution) and (2) frequency of 11 attributions of discrimination.ResultsDescriptive analyses highlighted variability in the characteristics associated with specific attributions of discrimination. We found that age was the most reported attribution of discrimination, followed by gender. Discrimination was associated with worse cognitive functioning, and frequent reports of certain attributions of discrimination (e.g., disability, sexual orientation) were associated with cognitive functioning.DiscussionThese results suggested that discrimination was harmful for cognitive health and that the perceived reasons for discrimination may have unique and negative implications for cognitive functioning among older adults.