Abstract
With the population aging rapidly, it is important we determine specific targets for intervention for preserving cognitive function with age. Financial capacity is one possible target, as it is an essential skill required for maintaining autonomy in late life (Nowrangi et al., 2019); however, it is not clear how financial capacity relates to overall cognitive ability, mental status, and general well-being in cognitively normal older adults. In this study, we applied the Financial Capacity Inventory Short-Form (FCI-sf) to investigate older adults’ financial capabilities, assessed cognitive functioning using standard neuropsychological assessments, and examined mental health/lifestyle habits using self-report questionnaires (N= 119, age range = 59 – 92). Some participants also completed a grip strength test (N= 35). We conducted three partial least square correlation analyses (PLSC) to 1) examine the associations between financial capacity and cognitive performance, 2) study how financial capacity relates to various lifestyle factors, and 3) analyze the relationship between financial capacity and grip strength. These analyses isolated three latent variables that optimally express the multivariate association between participants’ financial capacity and cognitive performance (r = 0.50, p < 0.001), participants’ financial capacity and mental status/lifestyle (r = 0.46, p = 0.01), and participant’s financial capacity and grip strength (r = 0.55, p = 0.003). These findings indicate that better financial capacity ability is associated with greater neuropsychological performance/cognitive functioning, more positive mental health and healthier sleep habits, and better grip strength ability. This research is the first of its kind to suggest that the FCI-sf may be a tool that can be used for the appraisal of an older adult’s aging process based on multiple modalities and can detect subtle individual cognitive differences in cognitively normal older adults.