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Knowledge of grocery shopping skills as a mediator of cognition and performance
Catana E Brown1, Melisa V Rempfer, Edna Hamera
1Department of Occupational Therapy Education, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City 66160, USA. tbrown@kumc.edu
Objective:
Cognitive impairments in serious mental illness are associated with poorer community outcomes; yet the mechanisms through which cognition limits functioning are unknown. This study examined knowledge of grocery shopping skills as a mediator of cognition and performance of grocery shopping skills.
Methods:
Fifty-one individuals with serious mental illness were administered measures of cognition, as well as measures of knowledge and performance of grocery shopping skills.
Results:
When knowledge of grocery shopping skills was introduced as a mechanism through which cognition influences performance, almost perfect mediation was achieved (slope of the regression dropped from B=.32 to B=.03).
Conclusions:
The search for mediators can improve our understanding of how cognition influences community functioning.
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