Does Religion Mitigate the Effect of Neighborhood Disorder on Cognitive Decline? Evidence From a National Longitudinal Study of U.S. Older Adults

OBJECTIVES: This paper examines whether perceived neighborhood disorder is associated with trajectories of cognitive functioning and whether religion mitigates this association among U.S. older adults. METHODS: Data are drawn from the 2006-2016 Health and Retirement Study (N = 12,669). Religious belief and religious attendance are assessed as potential moderators. Growth curve models are used to estimate trajectories of cognitive functioning over time. RESULTS: We find that perceived neighborhood disorder is associated with lower cognitive functioning at baseline; however, religious belief mitigates the impact of perceived neighborhood disorder on the level of cognitive functioning. For instance, individuals with high religious belief, despite experiencing high perceived neighborhood disorder, show better cognitive functioning at baseline compared to those with high disorder but low belief. While frequent religious attendance is associated with higher cognitive functioning at baseline, it does not moderate the impact of perceived neighborhood disorder on cognitive functioning. DISCUSSION: This study underscores the protective role of religious belief against cognitive aging in the face of neighborhood disorder, suggesting that personal faith may provide a cognitive reserve or coping mechanism. Our findings also imply that the absence of religious belief, combined with high perceived neighborhood disorder, may produce a compounded negative impact on cognitive aging.