Association between cognitive decline-related appraisal, cognitive emotion regulation strategy, and positive/negative...

To explore the relationships between cognitive decline-related appraisal, cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and positive/negative affect in older individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

This cross-sectional study was conducted at two community health centers in Beijing. The associations between variables were examined using structural equation modeling.

A total of 267 individuals, with an average of 73.27 (6.74) years were recruited. The mean scores for the positive and negative affect subscales on the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale were 28.52 (6.29) and 16.95 (5.68), respectively. The results of the acceptable structural equation modelings indicated that cognitive decline-related appraisal not only was directly correlated with positive affect (β = 0.32, P < 0.01) and negative affect (β = -0.22, P < 0.01) but also had indirect associations with them, mediated by cognitive emotion regulation strategies (β = -0.08, P < 0.05 for positive affect; β = -0.29, P < 0.01 for negative affect).

Cognitive emotion regulation strategies mediated the association between cognitive decline-related appraisal and positive affect or negative affect in older individuals with MCI. The findings provide caregivers with insight into the affective performance of older individuals with MCI. Targeted interventions focusing on helping older individuals with MCI improve their cognitive decline-related appraisal and select adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies that might enhance their psychological well-being. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2025; 25: 1115-1122.