Changes in Essentialist Beliefs About Cognitive Aging Predicts Changes in Mental Health: Evidence From a 10-Year Longitudinal Study

The belief that aging-related cognitive decline is inevitable is associated with impaired cognitive performance of older adults. Little is, however, known about the association between changes in essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging and mental health in the long term and among both younger and older adults. From a theoretical perspective, it would be expected that changes in essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging predict changes in mental health among older adults compared to younger adults. These differential associations have not yet been prospectively investigated. Using longitudinal data, the association between changes in essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging and mental health outcomes and the moderation effect of age were assessed. Mental health includes well-being and mental illness (depression, anxiety, and panic symptoms). Data from adult participants (n = 4,963 with a mean age of 55.41 years, range 28–84 years) in a U.S. national longitudinal study were analyzed. A series of two-wave latent change score models indicated that changes in essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging are associated with changes in well-being and mental illness. Age did not moderate the relationship between changes in essentialist beliefs about aging and changes in mental health (i.e., mental illness and well-being). The present study highlights change-to-change dynamics between essentialist beliefs about cognitive aging and mental health, regardless of age.