Mediating role of cognitive failures in the relationship between personality traits and meta-emotions in the elderly

The aim of this study was to analyze the structural relationships between meta-emotions based on personality traits and mediating role of cognitive failures in the elderly.  

This descriptive-correlational study was conducted using the structural equation modeling method. The statistical population was all elderly people aged 60 to 85 years in Ardakan, 320 of whom were selected in 2021 using convenience sampling method. Three questionnaires, including the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) by Broadbent et al. (1982), the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five-Factor personality Inventory (NEO-FFI) by Costa & McCrae (1985), and the Meta Emotions Scale (MES) by Mitmansgruber (2009) were used in the present study. Finally, the data were analyzed using the structural equation model (SEM), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and confirming the relationships between variables by the path analysis method.

The results showed that the goodness-of-fit indices (GFI) of the model were in a favorable condition (GFI=0.96). The results of the present study suggested that there were significant relationships between personality traits and cognitive failures with meta-emotions in the elderly (P<0.001). The results of the path analysis indicated that the mediating role of cognitive failures in the relationship between meta-emotions and personality traits was confirmed. In general, the results demonstrated that the mediating effect of cognitive failures was significant in the relationship between the personality traits including neuroticism, extroversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness and positive and negative meta-emotions (P<0.001).

Based on the results, it is recommended that mental health professionals and individuals involved in geriatric care should focus on improving the mental health and personality of the elderly by implementing interventions to reduce and address cognitive impairment and negative meta-emotions.