Abstract

Background: It has been estimated that more than half of the world’s population is bilingual. With the rates of bilingualism exponentially growing, researchers have been increasingly interested in the effects of bilingualism on the brain. Although the literature continues to expand, it remains limited in its understanding of how the complex bilingual experience impacts cognition. Objective: The current study, therefore, will focus on investigating how the bilingual experience affects cognition, specifically the cognitive domains of executive functioning and linguistic processing within an older adult population. Methods: Participants were 144 healthy older adults (67% female) between the ages of 63 and 78. A series of hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted, including controlling for various demographic factors. Results: The bilingual experience significantly predicted linguistic processing, including the bilingual factors of proficiency, age of acquisition, and their interaction as significant predictors. Executive functioning was not significantly predicted by the bilingual experience. Discussion: Implications of the findings are discussed, as well as promising follow-up research that can be done to address the limitations and further explain the findings of the current study.

LLU Discipline

Clinical Psychology

Department

Clinical Psychology

School

School of Behavioral Health

First Advisor

Adam L. Arechiga

Second Advisor

Hector M. Betancourt

Third Advisor

Grace J. Lee

Fourth Advisor

Joan Sabaté

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2019

Date (Title Page)

9-2019

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Bilingualism; Cognition.

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

xii, 66 p.

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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