Effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in China: mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of education

ObjectivesPrevious research has revealed a relationship between social support and cognitive frailty. However, the underlying mechanisms of this connection have still not been well explored. The study aimed to investigate the effect of social support on cognitive frailty, mediated by psychological r...

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Main Authors: Wenjuan Li, Yiwen Ma, Jinli Wei, Shanzheng Wu, Liangliang Cui, Chengchao Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1579485/full
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author Wenjuan Li
Yiwen Ma
Jinli Wei
Shanzheng Wu
Liangliang Cui
Chengchao Zhou
author_facet Wenjuan Li
Yiwen Ma
Jinli Wei
Shanzheng Wu
Liangliang Cui
Chengchao Zhou
author_sort Wenjuan Li
collection DOAJ
description ObjectivesPrevious research has revealed a relationship between social support and cognitive frailty. However, the underlying mechanisms of this connection have still not been well explored. The study aimed to investigate the effect of social support on cognitive frailty, mediated by psychological resilience and to examine the moderated mediation effect of education.MethodsA total of 1,758 older adults aged 60 years and above were included in the analysis. A descriptive analysis was conducted to describe the sample characteristics. The moderated mediation models were examined using Mplus 8.3, in which the mediation variables was psychological resilience, and the moderation variable was education.ResultsThe prevalence of cognitive frailty among the older adults was 4.3%. Social support had a significant negative predictive effect on the cognitive frailty (B = −0.066, p < 0.01), the psychological resilience partially mediated the relationship between social support and cognitive frailty (B = −0.103, p < 0.001). Compared to illiterate, primary school (B = −0.184, p < 0.05), middle school (B = −0.244, p < 0.01) and high school or above (B = −0.315, p < 0.01) could regulate the relationship between social support and psychological resilience in older adults.DiscussionWe present a conceptual model containing the mediated effects of psychological resilience and the moderated effect of education on the relationship between social support and cognitive frailty. We believe this model enhances understanding of these associations and could be instrumental in formulating intervention strategies to mitigate the incidence of cognitive frailty in older adults.
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spelling doaj-art-e550a90b5ee2491cb9dccae06306e78a2025-08-20T02:30:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience1663-43652025-05-011710.3389/fnagi.2025.15794851579485Effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in China: mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of educationWenjuan Li0Yiwen Ma1Jinli Wei2Shanzheng Wu3Liangliang Cui4Chengchao Zhou5Jinan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan, Shandong, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, ChinaJinan Mental Health Center, Jinan, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, ChinaJinan Mental Health Center, Jinan, ChinaSchool of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, ChinaObjectivesPrevious research has revealed a relationship between social support and cognitive frailty. However, the underlying mechanisms of this connection have still not been well explored. The study aimed to investigate the effect of social support on cognitive frailty, mediated by psychological resilience and to examine the moderated mediation effect of education.MethodsA total of 1,758 older adults aged 60 years and above were included in the analysis. A descriptive analysis was conducted to describe the sample characteristics. The moderated mediation models were examined using Mplus 8.3, in which the mediation variables was psychological resilience, and the moderation variable was education.ResultsThe prevalence of cognitive frailty among the older adults was 4.3%. Social support had a significant negative predictive effect on the cognitive frailty (B = −0.066, p < 0.01), the psychological resilience partially mediated the relationship between social support and cognitive frailty (B = −0.103, p < 0.001). Compared to illiterate, primary school (B = −0.184, p < 0.05), middle school (B = −0.244, p < 0.01) and high school or above (B = −0.315, p < 0.01) could regulate the relationship between social support and psychological resilience in older adults.DiscussionWe present a conceptual model containing the mediated effects of psychological resilience and the moderated effect of education on the relationship between social support and cognitive frailty. We believe this model enhances understanding of these associations and could be instrumental in formulating intervention strategies to mitigate the incidence of cognitive frailty in older adults.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1579485/fullcognitive frailtysocial supportpsychological resilienceeducationmoderated mediation
spellingShingle Wenjuan Li
Yiwen Ma
Jinli Wei
Shanzheng Wu
Liangliang Cui
Chengchao Zhou
Effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in China: mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of education
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
cognitive frailty
social support
psychological resilience
education
moderated mediation
title Effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in China: mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of education
title_full Effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in China: mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of education
title_fullStr Effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in China: mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of education
title_full_unstemmed Effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in China: mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of education
title_short Effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in China: mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of education
title_sort effects of social support on cognitive frailty among the older adults in china mediation of psychological resilience and moderated mediation of education
topic cognitive frailty
social support
psychological resilience
education
moderated mediation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1579485/full
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