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The Extent of Stability and Change in Episodic and Semantic Memory in Old Age: Demographic Predictors of Level and Change

¹ Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Sweden.
² Department of Psychology, Ume University, Sweden.
³ Aging Research Center (ARC), Karolinska Institute, Sweden.

Address correspondence to Martin Lövdén, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallée 94, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: loevden{at}mpib-berlin.mpg.de

Structural stability and change in semantic and episodic memory performance as well as interindividual differences in 5-year changes in these constructs are examined within a sample of older adults (age range_T1 = 60–80; n = 361). Interindividual differences in change were limited but significant. Stability coefficients were higher for semantic memory (.95) than for episodic memory (.87). Changes in episodic and semantic memory performance were strongly associated (r =.68). Across time, variances and covariances increased, and a tendency toward dedifferentiation in terms of increasing correlations was found. Chronological age was related to both level and change, but gender and education were only related to level of memory performance. Collectively, these results depict relatively high degrees of structural stability and stability of interindividual differences in declarative memory in old age.