Abstract

This study examined whether subjective age (SA) protects against the adverse effects of low social activity on cognitive func tion in older people. Data from the National Survey of Older Koreans collected during the COVID-19 pandemic were ana lyzed to test this hypothesis. Among the 10,097 older adults aged 65 and older, 9,878 who met the inclusion criteria were se lected. Participants were classified into “older SA” (n=6,437) and “youthful SA” (n=3,441). The results demonstrated that low social activities decreased cognitive function (B= .55, t= 6.20, p< .001), and this effect was more pronounced in the older SA group (B=.82, t=11.55, p<.001), suggesting that the older SA group is more vulnerable to limited social activities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the reduced social activity of older adults negatively affected their cognitive function. However, these results suggest that maintaining a youthful mind can protect older adults against the adverse effects of limited social ac tivity on cognitive function.