The Impact of Social Support and Resilience on Cognitive Function in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Cross‐Sectional Study

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the relationship between social support and resilience in cognitive functioning in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Background The increase in the number of older adults with MCI poses a serious public health problem. Existing studies suggest that psychosocial factors, such as social support and resilience, can maintain or delay cognitive decline, but the mechanism behind this is not entirely clear. Methods A convenient sampling survey of 330 patients with MCI in the community, who were screened from February 2022 to December 2022, was conducted using the General Information Questionnaire, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), the Connor‐Davidson Resilience Scale (CD‐RISC‐10), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS‐5), and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). SPSS 25.0 and AMOS26.0 software were used for descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, structural equation model, and confirmatory factor analysis. Results The scores of cognitive function, resilience, and social support were 22.56 ± 1.40, 25.15 ± 3.60, and 35.96 ± 3.76, respectively. Resilience, social support, and cognitive function were all strongly correlated, and resilience mediated between social support and cognitive function. Conclusion Social support and resilience scores are relatively low among Chinese older adults with MCI, which is influenced by various sociodemographic factors. In addition, the findings suggest that social support affects cognitive function through the mediating effect of resilience. Therefore, we should pay more attention to the degree of social support for the elderly with cognitive impairment, enhance the level of resilience, promote healthy behaviors, and delay the occurrence of MCI.