The relationship between income adequacy and cognitive function : an Aotearoa New Zealand lens : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science of Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
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Date
2025
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Massey University
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Background Globally, ageing populations have increased health concerns for cognitive decline. International and local studies have extensively documented the influence of modifiable factors such as socioeconomic status on cognitive functioning. However, there has been limited research specifically on the association of income adequacy and cognitive functioning in Aotearoa New Zealand. Income adequacy is the self-perception that an individual is able to meet their everyday needs through their current income. This thesis aims to address this gap. Methods A cross-sectional study was completed with 970 participants from around Aotearoa New Zealand as part of the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement (NZHWR) cohort study of ageing. Recruitment for NZHWR involved random sampling from the electoral roll and over-sampling of those identifying themselves as a person of Māori descent for adequate representation of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Indigenous population. This study consists of a survey, administered in 2010, which includes self-report questionnaires that comprise the assessment of income adequacy, and face-to-face assessments which have informed the cognitive functioning of the study population. Furthermore, the self-reported questionnaires were utilised to collect sociodemographic characteristics and information on living conditions of participants. Linear regression was used to assess the association between income adequacy and cognitive functioning. Further testing was completed to understand the relationship between age, gender, ethnicity, education, marital status, employment, area-based socioeconomic deprivation, and area of residence with income adequacy. Results The results indicated there was an association between higher levels of income adequacy and higher cognitive functioning. The findings also highlighted gender, ethnicity, education level, and area-based socioeconomic deprivation levels to be associated with cognitive functioning. Low area-based deprived living conditions were also found to be associated with higher cognitive functioning. Further ingroup testing revealed the distribution of levels of income adequacy amongst sociodemographic characteristics and living conditions. Conclusions This thesis provides insight into the importance of an adequate income for cognitive functioning in older adults. It reveals higher adequate income is associated with higher cognitive functioning among older adults in Aotearoa New Zealand. Furthermore, findings showed important differences in the distribution of adequate income levels with age, gender, ethnicity, education, marital status, employment, area-based socioeconomic deprivation levels, and area of residence. The findings and derived recommendations of this thesis seek to contribute to informing Aotearoa New Zealand policies and systemic reform, suggesting that adequate income may be an important factor for good cognitive functioning. Further research is required to understand the longitudinal effects of income adequacy on cognitive functioning.