Relationships among education, age, and cognitive functioning in older African Americans: The impact of desegregation

The current study sought to examine whether there were differences in the structure of specific cognitive abilities and their association with age and education in a sample of African American elders with two different early educational experiences. The study was conducted with a sample of 197 community dwelling older adults ranging in age from 50 to 79 years (mean age 61.50 years, SD = 7.30 years). The sample included 79 individuals who attended a desegregated school at anytime during their formal education, while 118 participants completed their schooling without ever attending a desegregated school. Major results included: (1) typical patterns among cognitive abilities and age as well as years of education were found in the full sample of participants; (2) the pattern of age differences in cognition differed between the two groups. Regarding the latter, the desegregated sample exhibited significant negative age differences for some cognitive abilities, while the segregated group did not. Discussion focuses on the importance of considering the nature of the educational experience when examining cognitive aging in African American elders.