The Association of Spirituality & Memory in Older Black and White U.S. Adults

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Interdisciplinary Centers, Units and Projects::Penn Population Studies Centers::Population Center Working Papers (PSC/PARC)
Degree type
Discipline
Mental and Social Health
Psychology
Religion
Medicine and Health Sciences
Subject
religion
spiritual
cognitive aging
cognition
dementia
cognitive impairment
resilience
protective factor
cognitive domains
Funder
This study was supported by: the University of Pennsylvania Population Aging Research Center (PARC) 2023-2024 Quartet Pilot Award [KCB]; grants from the National Institute of Aging (NIA P30AG072979) and Aging Brain Cohort Dedicated to Diversity (ABCD2) Study, a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the National Institutes of Health, National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Research Fellowship [KCB] from the National Institute of Nursing Research (T32NR009356).
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Copyright date
2025-06-10
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Author
Britt, Katherine C.
Dong, Fanghong
Hamilton, Jill B.
Stites, Shana D.
Mechanic-Hamilton, Dawn
Contributor
Abstract

This study investigates associations between religiousness and spirituality with memory and executive function among cognitively unimpaired older Black and White adults. We examined data from the Aging Brain Cohort (ABC) at The University of Pennsylvania Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center from 2021-2022. Participants who reported higher spirituality but not religiousness had better memory but not executive function, controlling for age, education, sex, and social interaction. Greater spirituality is associated with better memory among older Black and White Americans in this sample, informing a greater understanding of the underlying connection between spirituality and cognitive health.

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Series name and number
Population Center Working Paper (PSC/PARC), 2025-119
Publication date
2025-06-10
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Recommended citation
Britt, Katherine C., Fanghong Dong, Jill B. Hamilton, Lauren Massimo, Nancy Hodgson, Shana D. Stites and Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton. 2025. “The Association of Spirituality & Memory in Older Black and White U.S. Adults.” University of Pennsylvania. Population Center Working Paper (PSC/PARC), 2025-119.
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