B – 85 The Impact of Neighborhood Deprivation on Executive Functioning and Perceived Stress in Older Adults

Abstract Objective Executive functioning (EF) plays a pivotal role in daily life, from everyday tasks to higher order processes. As a key component of regulating stress, impairments in EF can also affect the ability to effectively cope with stressors. Social determinants of health, such as neighborhood deprivation, may impair EF and thus impact stress. This study examined if the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) mediates the effect of EF on stress in a sample of older adults referred for neuropsychological assessment. Method The sample included older adults referred for neuropsychological evaluation at an academic medical center (N = 54; 43% female, mean age = 62). EF was measured using perseverative errors score on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST). Stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Relative neighborhood resource deprivation was measured by ADI. Results Multiple linear regression (MLR) identified EF and ADI as a predictor of stress (p=0.05, R2=0.11). ADI predicted stress (p=0.03, β=0.31), while EF was a marginal predictor (p=0.10, β=0.23). Sobel test indicated ADI was not a significant mediator of the relationship (p=0.17, z=-1.37). Conclusion Results suggest that when taken together, ADI and EF predict stress to some extent, however the minimal effect of EF on stress happens independently from neighborhood deprivation. Further research is needed to advance our understanding of ADI and to examine if and how impairments in EF affect stress.