Purpose in Life and Cognitive Function in the Malaysian Ageing and Retirement Study

Objectives: Evidence for the association between purpose in life and cognitive health is primarily from North American and European samples. This study evaluates this association in a large sample from Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country in Southeast Asia. Methods: Participants (N = 5,579) from the Malaysian Ageing and Retirement Study reported on their purpose in life and subjective memory and were administered tasks that measured episodic memory, verbal fluency, and overall cognitive function. Results: Purpose was associated with better subjective memory (beta=.13), episodic memory (beta=.06), verbal fluency (beta=.12), and overall cognitive function (beta=.07) (ps < .001). The associations were similar across sex and retirement status; purpose was more strongly related to subjective memory and overall cognitive function among older participants. Behavioral/social factors accounted for up to one-third of the associations, but all associations remained statistically significant. Conclusions: The positive association between purpose and cognition generalizes to a middle-income country in Southeast Asia. Similar to Western samples, behavioral and social factors accounted for part but not all the association. More research is needed in lower- and other middle-income countries to fully evaluate generalizability. Clinical Implications: Purpose may help support healthier cognitive aging across diverse populations and be a useful target to improve cognitive aging outcomes.