Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to determine (a) whether organizational and non-organizational religious participation are associated with cognitive function trajectories among older African Americans and (b) whether the associations between religious participation and cognitive function trajectories vary by age. METHODS: Data for this study come from the Minority Aging Research Study (N = 822). Organizational religious participation included service attendance, and non-organizational religious participation included religious coping and prayer/meditation. The researchers utilized group-based trajectory modeling to identify cognitive function trajectories based on global cognitive function scores. RESULTS: The researchers identified four distinct cognitive trajectories: fast decline, slow decline, moderate and stable, and high and stable. While prayer/meditation was associated with membership in the moderate-and-stable trajectory, significant interactions between the non-organizational religious participation variables and age indicated that the associations between non-organizational religious participation and cognitive trajectory varied by age. Neither religious coping nor service attendance was associated with cognitive trajectories. DISCUSSION: These findings illustrate substantial heterogeneity in cognitive aging among older African Americans. Non-organizational religious participation primarily served as a preventive factor among younger participants but functioned more prominently as a coping resource among the oldest participants. These age-related distinctions emphasize the diverse ways in which religiosity could foster cognitive resilience or aid in navigating cognitive decline among older African Americans.