Neuroscience News: Family Size May Influence Cognitive Functioning in Later Life
“A new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and the Robert Butler Columbia Aging Center and Université Paris-Dauphine—PSL, found that having three or more versus two children has a negative effect on late-life cognition.”
“The results further indicated that this effect was strongest in Northern Europe, where higher fertility decreases financial resources but does not improve social resources in this region. This is the first to study the causal effect of high fertility on late-life cognition.”
“Parents often prefer to have at least one son and one daughter. We thus exploit the sex composition of the first two children as a source of exogenous variation in the probability of having three or more children.”
“...Having children decreases the risk of social isolation among older individuals which is a key risk factor for cognitive impairment and dementia, and often raises the level of social interaction and support, which can be protective against cognitive decline at older ages.
“Finally, having children can be stressful, affect health risk behaviors and adversely affect adult cognitive development. Parents with more children can experience more stress, have less time to relax and invest in cognitively stimulating leisure activities. This can imply sleep deprivation for the parent.”
Read the full article here.
#Family #Cognition #Aging
My Take:
My take is that…I’m not sure if I have one on this or feel really qualified in that regard. I don’t currently have kids (while being open to the possibility),and I simply feel like I have enough on my plate to deal with, as-is. In my life and social circle, I have noticed that on the subject of kids (when/if people are having them, how many they have/don’t have) can sometimes lead to pretty spirited discussions. I have plenty of married friends around my age and younger who haven’t had kids yet–much to the chagrin of their parents. So yeah, it goes without saying that the decision to have kids (or how many) is a personal one.
Also, I thought it was interesting that this article did note in one paragraph that there is the (obvious) positive of having kids by way of less social isolation.
And as a question for you all:
In addition to just the thought of having/not having kids, do you all have any thoughts about the sizes of families, in any regard?
@sereneSunset26 The word fertility comes up in this. What about the others ways which people have kids? Some other options are much more of a choice.
@AffyAvo
That is so true!! And is pretty much why I found this study kind of provocative and seemingly incomplete. I know the authors addressed the study's imperfections somewhat, but I feel they could have been even more forthcoming.
@sereneSunset26 I think in today's world, it's really hard to have a big family because everything is so expensive! I sometimes see these big families on social media or TV and it almost makes me upset because how can you afford that many kids and then actually make sure they are WELL taken care of? I'd rather have less kids and make sure they are good and taken care of, then have a lot and run the risk of them being more neglected. Things to think about!
@fruityPond7887
I can definitely understand where you're coming from and pretty much agree myself. My childhood taught me how important it is for parents to be present for/with their children. And if I have kids, I certainly wanna do better than my parents did in this regard. 😅
@sereneSunset26 I am really sorry that you had to experience that in your childhood 😞 But I know that you will be a great parent one day! That's one of the good things about bad experiences; you realize what you don't want out of life and you can learn from these things :)
@fruityPond7887
Thank you!! <3
I've had to learn that, you know, sometimes learning what *not* to do can be just as beneficial. :)
@sereneSunset26 Exactly! After working in a research lab, I learned that failure is still progress because you are learning what next steps to take and what not to do next because it obviously didn't work and it's not the answer you are looking for!