Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39786429›Full record

ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2025

Characterizing Cognitive Dispersion and Its Correlates Across the Adult Lifespan in MIDUS.

Laura M Klepacz, Eric S Cerino, Jeremy M Hamm

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Perceived control buffers against variability in day-to-day cognition in midlife and older age.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Laura M KlepaczDepartment of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA.
Eric S CerinoDepartment of Psychological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3609-0805
Jeremy M HammDepartment of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1672-0868

Funding

U19 MIDlife in the United States-Diversity Supplement-WellsU19AG051426 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI CAROL D. RYFF · 2016 to 2026
$74.8M
STATISTICS COREP01AG020166 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI RYFF, CAROL D. · 2002 to 2015
$50.6M
SSCIMA: Integrating Analysis of Socio-economic Sub-population Dynamics to Improve Spatial Models of Infectious DiseaseU54MD012388 · NIMHD · NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY · PI ANNA L SCHWARTZ · 2017 to 2026
$49.7M
Integrative Pathways to Cognitive, Affective, and Brain HealthU01AG077928 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI Sterling C Johnson, MARGIE E LACHMAN · 2022 to 2026
$17.7M
Perceived Control and Cognitive Aging: Pathways to Preserve Cognitive Functioning and Reduce Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease in Socioeconomically Diverse PopulationsR01AG075117 · NIA · NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY · PI HAMM, JEREMY · 2022 to 2025
$1.7M
NIA NIH HHS P01 AG020166NIA NIH HHS P01-AG020166; U19-AG051426; U01-AG077928NIA NIH HHS R01 AG075117NIA NIH HHS R01AG075117NIA NIH HHS U01 AG077928NIA NIH HHS U19 AG051426NIMHD NIH HHS U54 MD012388
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesAlthough research has shown that higher levels of within-person variability across cognitive tasks (dispersion) are associated with cognitive decline in clinical samples, little is known about dispersion in comparatively younger, nonclinical, and national samples. A better understanding of dispersion is needed to elucidate for whom and under what circumstances dispersion can be used as a reliable indicator of cognitive health.

methodWe used data from the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS; n = 2,229; Mage = 56 years, range = 33-83; 56% female) to: (a) characterize dispersion and its cross-sectional correlates in a nonclinical, adult lifespan sample and (b) examine changes in dispersion over time to determine for whom changes in dispersion may reflect better or worse cognitive aging.

resultsCorrelations showed higher levels of dispersion were associated with higher levels of mean performance at both waves (rs = 0.28-0.29). Autoregressive main effect models showed that increases in dispersion were associated with less decline in mean performance over the 2-wave, 9-year follow-up period (β = 0.17, p < .001). Moderation models showed that the link between change in dispersion and change in mean performance was pronounced in comparatively older adults (β = 0.28), women (β = 0.27), individuals with less education (β = 0.23), and those with lower income (β = 0.23; all ps < .001). DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that increases in dispersion may not always be maladaptive in normative, adult lifespan samples and may reflect healthier cognitive profiles in individuals who are at greater risk for cognitive impairment.

Indexed as

AgingCognitionCognitive AgingCognitive DysfunctionAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsUnited StatesCognitive agingIntraindividual variabilityLifespan developmentLongitudinal change

Identifiers

PMID39786429
PMCPMC12079375

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.