Educational mobility and older adults' working memory updating ability: association and role of resilience

OBJECTIVE: Previous research revealed that a low childhood socioeconomic status, including low parental education, correlates with impaired executive functioning. However, there is a lack of research on the association of working memory updating (WMU) ability, which is one of the major components of executive functioning, and of resilience with educational mobility. The purpose of the present two studies was to further examine these associations. METHOD: In Study 1, 180, 60-88-year old adults with different levels of educational mobility performed a WMU task. In Study 2, 130, 60-89-year old adults that had experienced different levels of upward educational mobility completed a WMU task and a resilience questionnaire. RESULTS: Study 1 revealed that extent of educational mobility was significantly positively associated with WMU ability. Study 2 revealed significant positive associations among extent of educational mobility, resilience, and WMU task performance. CONCLUSION: The results were discussed in terms of possible causal relations between the variables and implications for interventions that aim to enhance upward educational mobility and cognitive functioning in late adulthood.