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Senior Citizens Need Interaction to Maintain
Communication Ability
Aug. 13, 2004 - Senior citizens living alone and
independently in apartments should interact often with others---both
friends and family members---if they want to maintain their ability to
communicate, a new University of Michigan study showed.
A lifestyle with organized activities seems to
provide the best social opportunities for the elderly, said Deborah
Keller-Cohen, a U-M professor of women's studies and linguistics.
Much is known about the association between
declines in cognitive function among the elderly and the ability to
communicate, but little has been explored about what role social
engagement might play in that relationship. The U-M research targeted
people 85 and older---the fastest growing segment of the U.S.
population, Keller-Cohen said.
U-M researchers examined the relationships among
social engagement, cognition and communicative skills. They reviewed
notebooks kept by the study's participants, who tracked the frequency,
purpose and quality of interactions. The participants were tested on
their ability to name objects in pictures, a common measure of language
skill ability.
Individuals who experienced less cognitive decline
were involved in a wider range of relationships, each of which
challenges individuals to speak and listen to others on a range of
topics. Thus, this diversity in interaction would seem to keep one's
linguistic skills activated, she said.
When the elderly limited their contact solely to
family members, they didn't fare as well as they could have with
communications skills had they also interacted with others, Keller-Cohen
said. Although additional research is required, this might have
implications for how senior living centers structure programming and
activities.
"It's possible that as individuals decline
cognitively, they become less able to handle social contact and become
more dependent on family members who by virtue of kin obligations, will
continue to interact with them," she said.
This research, "Social contact and communication in
people over 85," was presented at the recent American Psychological
Association conference in Hawaii. Other U-M researchers for this study
are Amanda Toler, Diane Miller, Katherine Fiori and Deborah Bybee.
For more information on Keller-Cohen, visit
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/ling/people/Deborah_Keller-Cohen.htm
For more on the American Psychological Association, visit
http://www.apa.org/
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