Not all mentally stimulating activities are alike: insights from a 4-factor model and implications for late-life cognition.

It is not yet known which specific qualities of cognitively stimulating activities are most likely to enhance cognitive reserve in older adults. Taking an inductive approach to this problem, we asked 504 older adults with subjective and/or cognitive impairment to complete the Cognitively Stimulating Activities Questionnaire (CSA-Q). Exploratory factor analysis identified a 4-factor structure within a split-half sample, after which confirmatory factor analysis cross-validated the model. Retaining 12 CSA-Q items, the 4 factors were dubbed  CSA-Processing , CSA-Challenging ,  CSA-Connecting and  CSA-Socializing . Resulting factor weights were analyzed relative to cognitive reserve proxies and neuropsychological domains. All factors except  CSA-Challenging  were positively linked to cognitive reserve. Neuropsychologically,  CSA-Challenging  was modestly and positively correlated with processing speed and executive function, while  CSA-Processing  was positively correlated with executive function.  CSA-Socializing  had a small positive correlation with processing speed. Our findings offer new insights into late-life stimulating activities, laying the groundwork for longitudinal and intervention studies.