Individual differences in frequency and impact of daily memory lapses: results from a national lifespan sample

Mogle, Jacqueline; Turner, Jennifer R.; Bhargava, Sakshi; Stawski, Robert S.; Almeida, David M.; Hill, Nikki L. · 2023 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1186/s12877-023-04363-6

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Summary

This study investigates the frequency and impact of daily memory lapses across the adult lifespan, addressing a gap in research that has historically focused on older adults. While age-related cognitive decline is well-documented, real-world memory lapses are ubiquitous across all ages. The authors aimed to determine how the occurrence and perceived impact of retrospective (memory for past information) and prospective (memory for future intentions) lapses vary by age, gender, and education level. The researchers conducted a secondary analysis of data from the National Institute on Aging-funded Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, combining the third wave (MIDUS-3) and the Refresher sample (MIDUS-R). The final sample included 2,018 adults aged 25 to 91. Participants completed an 8-day daily diary protocol, receiving phone calls each evening to report specific memory lapses and their impacts. Using the Daily Memory Lapse Checklist, participants reported on nine types of lapses. They also rated the negative impact of each lapse on two dimensions: irritation (emotional impact) and interference (functional impact), using 0–10 scales. Multilevel modeling was employed to analyze the likelihood of reporting lapses and their impacts, controlling for dataset cohort, race, and daily stress. Results indicated that participants reported memory lapses on approximately 40.9% of days. Retrospective lapses were significantly more frequent than prospective lapses. Older age and higher education levels were associated with a greater likelihood of reporting retrospective lapses. Conversely, women were more likely than men to report prospective lapses. Regarding impacts, women consistently rated their memory lapses as more irritating and interfering than men. Lower education levels were associated with greater perceived impacts for both retrospective and prospective lapses. Notably, age was not significantly related to the functional or emotional impacts of retrospective lapses, though older adults reported higher irritation for prospective lapses. The most impactful specific lapses included forgetting something one wanted to remember (retrospective) and forgetting to attend an appointment (prospective). The study concludes that memory lapses are common across the lifespan and that the individuals most likely to report lapses are not necessarily those who experience the greatest negative impacts. The findings suggest that gender roles and educational background significantly influence how memory failures are experienced and appraised. The authors argue that measuring these experiences in real-world environments is crucial for developing sensitive measures of cognitive functioning that can better predict an individual’s ability to live independently.

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• prospective memory interruptions