Numeracy skills, cognitive reserve, and psychological well-being: What relationship in late adult lifespan?

Background: The capacity of understanding and manipulating numerical stimuli (i.e., numeracy) can impact decision making. This investigation was conducted to examine whether number comprehension and mental calculation predict hedonic (i.e., Scale of Positive and Negative Experience, SPANE) and eudaimonic (i.e., Flourishing Scale) well-being in late adulthood, and whether cognitive reserve (i.e., education, time spent for gardening, and time spent for leisure activities) and non-verbal reasoning predict numeracy skills of old adults. Additionally, the effect of age on numeracy was examined, controlling for the effect of education and cognitive efficiency. Methods: One hundred and fifty-eight (i.e., 65–94 years old) community-dwellers completed a battery of tools assessing numeracy, cognitive and metacognitive efficiency, and psychological well-being. Results: Number comprehension, metacognition, time spent for leisure, and perceived physical health accounted for 23% of the variance in the SPANE condition, whereas metacognition, perceived physical health, time for leisure, and education explained 15% of the variance in the Flourishing condition. Moreover, cognitive reserve assessed in terms of vocabulary and education predicted mental calculation. Finally, aging significantly impacted the mental calculation performance of older participants. Conclusions: These findings suggest that numeracy skills can selectively impact the mental health and daily life of older adults

Mental Health and Religiosity in the Sardinian Blue Zone: Life Satisfaction and Optimism for Aging Well

This study evaluated the impact of the sociocultural context on dispositional optimism and resilience, life satisfaction, and religiosity in late adulthood. Moreover, the associations between those psychological measures and religiosity were investigated. Ninety-five older individuals recruited in the Sardinian Blue Zone and Cagliari completed a battery of tools assessing cognitive and mental health, and religiosity. Life satisfaction correlated with resilience and religiosity, whereas resilience correlated with optimism. Furthermore, participants of the rural area reported greater optimism and life satisfaction than peers living in the urban area. In conclusion, optimism and hedonic well-being favor optimal aging in the Blue Zone

Associations between migration experience and perceived mental health in optimal ageing: evidence from the Sardinian Blue Zone

The effect of migration on perceived mental health has not been examined in older migrants after their return to their places of origin. This study was mainly aimed at evaluating the perceived mental health of older people who experienced migration and permanent resident peers living in the Sardinian Blue Zone (i.e. one of the four areas of exceptional longevity in the world). Forty-eight community-based older participants (32 males and 16 females) with and without a migration experience were recruited in two villages of the Sardinian Blue Zone and completed a battery of self-report inventories assessing psychological well-being, negative mood, and ego resilience. Older individuals who experienced migration reported higher ego resilience and exhibited greater resources used to manage positive emotionality (i.e. openness to life experiences). Moreover, compared to the normative data, both the groups reported higher psychological well-being and fewer depressive symptoms. Finally, no significant associations were found between the length of migration and each mental health index. In conclusion, resilience seems to represent a psychological trait that helps to manage stressful events and contributes to the preservation of perceived mental health in late adulthood

Is the Sardinian Blue Zone the New Shangri-La for mental health? Evidence on depressive symptoms and its correlates in late adult life span

Background: An area of extraordinary longevity (i.e., Sardinian Blue Zone) characterized by a very high prevalence of long-lived successful agers has been validated in Sardinia, an Italian island located in the Mediterranean Sea. Aims: This study was primarily aimed at examining whether dietary habits (intake of vegetables and fruit, animal-derived proteins, and carbohydrates-rich food), time spent on hobbies, subjective physical health, and socio-cultural context (Sardinian Blue Zone vs. another Sardinian rural area) predicted self-reported depressive symptoms in older adults recruited in the Sardinian Blue Zone and another Sardinian rural area not being characterized by a higher prevalence of long-lived individuals. Methods: Three hundred and eighteen community-dwellers, age 65 years and older, 188 females and 130 males (Mage = 79.1 years, SD = 6.9 years) were recruited from the Sardinian Blue Zone and another Sardinian rural area. Each participant individually completed a battery of instruments to assess lifestyle, food habits, perceived physical health, and depressive symptoms through the CES-D inventory. Results: Significant associations were found between depressive signs, perceived physical health, time spent gardening, proteins, and carbohydrates intake, respectively. Approximately 17% of the variance in the CES-D condition was predicted by socio-cultural context, perceived physical health, and gardening. Participants recruited in the Sardinian Blue Zone spent more time gardening and self-reported better physical health. Conclusions: current results suggest that a socio-cultural context where people age well (i.e., the Sardinian Blue Zone), and a healthy and physically active lifestyle are crucial for promoting well-being in late adulthood

Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in late adulthood: lessons from Sardinia’s Blue Zone

This study was conducted to investigate whether socio-cultural context (i.e., urban versus rural), perceived physical health, marital status, and satisfaction with family and non-family ties predicted hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in late adulthood and to examine the impact of the socio-cultural context on well-being, physical health and satisfaction with family and non-family ties by controlling age.One hundred and one community-dwelling participants aged between 68 and 94 were enrolled in the Sardinian Blue Zone—an area of exceptional longevity located in Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea—and in the city of Cagliari—the regional capital. All participants completed a battery of tools assessing global cognitive efficiency, hedonic (i.e., SPANE and Satisfaction with Life Scales) and eudaimonic (i.e., Flourishing Scale) well-being, perceived physical health, and satisfaction with family and non-family ties. Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being were associated with several variables: marital status, socio-cultural context, and perceived physical health predicted 24% of the variance in the SPANE condition, 52% of the variance in the Satisfaction with Life condition was predicted by the socio-cultural context and satisfaction with family ties, whereas 39% of the Flourishing index was predicted by the socio-cultural context and physical health. Finally, the participants in the Sardinian Blue Zone reported better mental well-being and satisfaction with family and non-family ties than older people living in Cagliari. In conclusion, a socio-cultural context in which positive relationships in late adulthood are strengthened contributes to the promotion of mental health in late adulthood

Comparing the effects of combined numerical and visuospatial psychoeducational trainings conducted by curricular teachers and external trainers. Preliminary evidence across kindergarteners

The aim of this study was to verify the efficacy of two pencil-and-paper trainings empowering numerical and visuo-spatial abilities in Italian five-year-old kindergarteners. Specifically, the trainings were respectively carried out by the curricular teacher or by an external trainer. The former received a specific training in order to use the psychoeducational programmes with her pupils, whereas the latter received a specific education about the role of numerical and visuo-spatial abilities for school achievement and she was also trained to use psychoeducational trainings in kindergarten schools. At pre-test and post-test nonverbal functions and numeracy knowledge were assessed through a battery of standardized tests. The results show that both the numerical psychoeducational programme and the visuo-spatial one are useful tools to enhance mathematical achievements in kindergarteners. However, when the trainings were proposed by the external trainer, the efficacy of the psychoeducational programmes was more significant. These outcomes seem to be related both to the expertise and the novelty effect of the external trainer on the classroom

Well-being, food habits, and lifestyle for longevity. Preliminary evidence from the sardinian centenarians and long-lived people of the Blue Zone

Lifestyle, physical, and mental health impact successful aging. However, at present, extensive literature about the interplay among perceived mental and physical health, lifestyle, and food intake in long-lived people residing in areas of exceptional longevity is lacking. This study was mainly aimed at examining the relationships among self-assessed life satisfaction, physical health, lifestyle, and food intake in the last two decades of life. A further goal was to investigate the impact of age-related factors on the above variables. The recruitment was mainly conducted in the Sardinian Blue Zone, a well-documented area of exceptional longevity in Sardinia, an Italian Island located in the Mediterranean Sea. Twenty-nine octogenarians (Mage = 83.9 years, SD = 2.7) and 28 gender-matched long-lived (Mage = 97.6 years, SD = 7.9) community-dwellers took voluntarily part in the study. Each participant individually completed a battery of tasks assessing their global cognitive efficiency, life satisfaction, lifestyle, food intake, and perceived physical health. The results highlighted that life satisfaction was significantly associated with time spent on outdoor leisure activities (r = .314, p = .026), perceived physical health (r = .459, p = .001), and carbohydrate intake (r = .333, p = .021). Moreover, the octogenarians and long-lived groups reported similar levels of life satisfaction (t(56) = .573, p = .569, Cohen’s d = .164). In conclusion, healthy nutrition habits and a physically active lifestyle boosting mental and physical health are crucial for promoting optimal aging

The contribution of motor functions to academic achievement in primary school: State of the art and future directions

This review is intended to point out the role played by motor skills proficiency in the academic achievement of typically and atypically developing pupils who are attending primary school. First, the interplay between motor and cognitive development will be presented. Next, the cognitive phenotype, not yet deeply investigated, of a neurodevelopmental condition associated with the atypical development of motor functions (known as Developmental Coordination Disorder) will be illustrated. Thus, the contribution of motor functions to academic learning and the impact of motor difficulties for pupils attending primary school will be discussed. In addition, the importance of developing observational tools to be used in educational settings and the need for effective interventions designed to empower motor functioning and academic achievement of atypically developing pupils with motor deficits will be highlighted. Finally, future directions within the educational agencies for the early detection of the atypically developing motor trajectories and their treatment will be traced

Life satisfaction in late adult span: the contribution of family relationships, health self-perception and physical activity

Background: Life satisfaction is a crucial facet of subjective well-being, being impacted by different factors, such as cognitive and physical health, and social functioning. Aims: This study intended to investigate the impact of satisfaction with family ties, education, negative mood and health self-perception on life satisfaction in late adulthood. Methods: One hundred fifteen cognitively intact 75–101-year-old participants competed a battery of tools assessing cognitive efficiency and self-referent measures of life satisfaction, perceived physical health, negative mood and satisfaction with family relations. Results: A series of step-wise regression analyses showed that satisfaction with family ties with and without perceived physical health predicted different indexes of life satisfaction. Moreover, more physically active participants reported fewer depressive symptoms and better life satisfaction with their time occupied in leisure activities than more sedentary respondents. Conclusion: Perceived emotional connection with family members and a physically active lifestyle represent the most significant protective factors to boost self-reported life satisfaction in late adulthood

Visuo-spatial mental imagery and geometry skills in school-aged children

The relationships between visuo-spatial abilities and geometry performances in school-aged children were examined. A battery of tests assessing non-verbal reasoning, visuo-spatial mental imagery, and academic achievement in geometry (i.e., geometric knowledge and geometric problem-solving competencies) was presented to 162 8-9.5-year-old pupils attending primary school. After controlling for age, significant associations were found between non-verbal reasoning abilities and knowledge in geometry (r =.31, p =.013) and geometric problem-solving skills (r =.35, p =.005), respectively. Similarly, using age as covariate, mental imagery abilities were significantly related to geometric knowledge (r = -.28, p <.001) and geometric problem-solving skills (r = -.24, p =.002), respectively. Furthermore, pupils with high visuo-spatial mental imagery abilities outperformed their peers with low visuo-spatial competences in the geometry tasks and further visuo-spatial abilities measure computed by their teachers. Finally, male participants showed better geometry skills than females