Thesis

Ageing and communication : understanding the roles of cognition, speech production and social participation

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2026
Thesis identifier
  • T17619
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 202152161
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Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • Typical ageing is accompanied by changes in cognitive and motor speech functioning. However, the relationship between these domains is underexplored, as is the extent to which they predict social participation, a lifestyle factor protective of brain health. Using a survey, Study 1 investigated longitudinal relationships between subjective cognition and speech execution. Older adults (N = 204, M = 70.58, SD = 6.65) self-reported on cognitive abilities, speech execution and sociodemographic variables at two timepoints, 12 months apart. Attention/concentration, and language significantly predicted speech execution at baseline. Visual perceptual ability at T1 predicted speech execution at T2, and speech execution at T1 predicted language at T2. Self-reported speech difficulty may provide an early marker of cognitive change in the absence of objective cognitive impairment. Study 2 investigated relationships between fluid/crystallised cognition and speech execution subsystems (articulation and phonation). Older adults (N = 87, M = 71.48, SD = 6.71) completed the NIH toolbox cognition and sensation domains, two maximum performance tasks assessing articulation and phonation, two connected speech tasks, and self-reported sociodemographic and wellbeing measures. Fluid and crystallised cognition predicted articulation during a diadochokinetic (DDK) but not during connected speech, suggesting that everyday communication is relatively spared. Study 3 investigated whether fluid cognition, crystallised cognition, and/or articulation predicted social participation, using Study 2 data. Participants selfreported their activity engagement, social network size and levels of communicative participation. There were no significant relationships amongst core predictors and social participation. Self-reported speech difficulty, a covariate, significantly predicted reduced communicative participation. Perceptions of speech may be a better indicator of communicative participation than objective measures. Future research should consider whether self-reported cognition predicts social participation. The development of self-report questionnaires measuring speech in typical ageing is also a priority.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Kuschmann, Anja
  • Nicholls, Louise Brown
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DOI

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