Invecchiamento e benessere: quali le variabili coinvolte?

[Autom. eng. transl.] Psychological well-being is a multidimensional construct that according to Ryff's model is composed of the following components: self-acceptance, positive interpersonal relationships, autonomy, environmental control, personal growth and purpose in life. There are many studies in the literature that have studied well-being in elderly subjects; however, not many have explicitly linked it to cognitive variables and levels of cognitive reserve. This paper therefore aims to present the preliminary results of a multicentre correlational research, which had as its main purpose that of investigating the possible relationships between these variables, in a sample of 59 elderly subjects (age: M = 72.8 ± 7, education M = 9.86 ± 4.42). The preliminary results highlighted how higher levels of global cognitive abilities (MoCA, Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and attention-executive skills (Trail Making Test, Stroop Test), correlate with higher scores on the personal growth scale (PWB, Psychological Wellbeing Scale). Furthermore, it is interesting to note that different subscales of PWB (i.e. personal growth, purpose in life and personal growth) are positively correlated in a specific way with the free time subscale of the cognitive reserve test. These data seem to suggest how both cognitive efficiency and cognitive reserve, especially in its "modifiable" components of free time, can have a significant role in the well-being perceived by elderly subjects. This could have important practical implications especially as regards the design of interventions to promote active and successful aging.