Reading Literacy for Sustaining Cognitive Reserve and Preventing Dementia Across the Lifespan



Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

Reading literacy is a critical factor in healthy lifestyles and quality of life, as it has a positive impact on overall body health and cognitive functioning of the brain. Current research indicates a direct correlation between the degree of reading literacy and a reduction in the risk of central nervous system disorders characteristic of old age. Given the growing trend of population aging and the increasing number of patients with age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, the study of ways to develop sustainable reading skills is of particular importance. This work presents a review of studies on the influence of reading and other forms of intellectual activity on cognitive health and longevity. Various methodological techniques for developing reading literacy are analyzed, including clustering, reading with stops, crosswords, and the "thin and thick" questions technique, as well as their effectiveness in the context of maintaining active cognitive functioning in older age. Special attention is paid to the possibilities of implementing innovative approaches to organizing the reading process and adult education, with the aim of developing practical recommendations for educational institutions and social services aimed at maintaining cognitive health and promoting active aging. The results of this study are intended to raise awareness of the importance of reading literacy and to develop effective strategies for its development and maintenance throughout life.

About the authors

Sofia A. Tolstenko

St. Petersburg, Russia. A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University

Author for correspondence.
Email: sofijatol@gmail.com

Master's degree, Department of Educational Technologies in Philology, Faculty of Philology, Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University

Russian Federation

References

  1. Kirsch, I. S., Jungeblut, A., Jenkins, L., & Kolstad, A. (2002). Reading for change: Performance and engagement across countries. Results from PISA 2000. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
  2. Perfetti, C. A., Landi, N., & Oakhill, J. (2005). The Acquisition of Reading Comprehension Skill. In M. J. Snowling, & C. Hulme (Eds.), The Science of Reading: A Handbook (pp. 227-247). Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470757642.ch13
  3. Edmund Burke Huey. Psychology And Pedagogy Of Reading, With A Review Of The History Of Reading And Writing And Of Methods, Texts, And Hygiene In Reading / Edmund Burke Huey. — 1908: Kessinger Publishing, — 492 c.
  4. Rosenblatt, L. M. (1978). The Reader, the Text, the Poem: The Transactional Theory of the Literary Work. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
  5. Snow, C.E., Burns, M.S., & Griffin, P. (eds.) (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 432 pp.
  6. Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension. In A. E. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (pp. 205-242).
  7. Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2004). Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106.
  8. Coiro, J., Knobel, M., Lankshear, C., & Leu, D. J. (2008). Handbook of research on new literacies. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  9. Heath, S. B. (1983). Ways with words: Language, life, and work in communities and classrooms. Cambridge University Press.
  10. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258).
  11. Goldman, S. R., Britt, M. A., Brown, W., Cribb, A., George, M., Greenleaf, C., ... & Project READi. (2016). Disciplinary literacies and learning to read for understanding: A conceptual framework for disciplinary literacy. Educational Psychologist, 51(2), 219-246.
  12. Gee, J. P. (2015). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. Routledge.
  13. Kapelyushnikov R.I., Lukyanova A.L. Transformation of human capital in the Russian society (based on the “Russian monitoring of the economic situation and health of the population”). Moscow: Foundation “Liberal Mission”, 2010. 196 p. (In Russ.).
  14. Poltorak N.A. Cultural capital as a factor in modeling the process of receiving quality education by modern Russian youth // Engineering Bulletin of Don. 2015. № 37(3). Pp. 179–185. (In Russ.).
  15. Zaritsky T. Cultural capital and accessibility of higher education (based on the results of a comparative study of Moscow and Warsaw students of higher education institutions) // Vestnik Public Opinion. Data. Analysis. Discussions. 2006. № 2. Pp. 47–61. (In Russ.).
  16. Kozhaniyazova A.E. Readers' competence: essence, features and conditions of development // National Association of Scientists. 2016. № 9(25). Pp. 63–65. (In Russ.).
  17. Mirzayanova L.F. Features of psychological support of students in the conditions of developing educational environment of higher education institution // Bulletin of Polotsk State University. Series E. Pedagogical sciences. 2009. № 11. Pp. 2–8. (In Russ.).
  18. … Wang Y.Y., Yang L., Zhang J. et al. The effect of cognitive intervention on cognitive function in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis // Neuropsychology Review. 2022. Vol. 32(2). Pp. 247–273. doi: 10.1007/s11065-021-09486-4.
  19. Krasnova O.V., Liders A.G. Social psychology of aging. Social psychology of old age. Moscow: Academia, 2002. 287 p. (In Russ.).
  20. Dubovik Y.B. Psychological well-being in the elderly and old age: dis. Cand. psychol. nauk: 19.00.13 / Y.B. Dubovik. Moscow: Ros. gos. humanitarian un-ty (RGGU), 2012. 228 p. (In Russ.).
  21. Elementary school: problems and prospects, values and innovations: a collection of articles based on the materials of the XV All-Russian scientific-practical conference (Yoshkar-Ola, February 28, 2023) / Editorial board: I.N. Andreev (editor-in-chief) [and others]. Yoshkar-Ola: Mari State University, 2023. 484 p. (In Russ.).
  22. Holland G.F., Howell J.P. Cognitive activity in older adults is associated with reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease // Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2017. Vol. 65(3). Pp. 485–492.
  23. Beardsall L. Development of the Cambridge Contextual Reading Test for improving the estimation of premorbid verbal intelligence in older persons with dementia // British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1998. Vol. 37(2). Pp. 229–240.
  24. Astashova N.A. Teacher: the problem of choice and formation of values. Moscow: MPSY; 2000. 272 p. (In Russ.).
  25. Roshchak K. Psychological features of personality in old age: autoref. dis. ... Cand. psychol. nauk: 19.00.07 / K. Roshchak. Moscow: Research Institute of general and pedagogical psychology. 1990. 19 p. (In Russ.).
  26. Tsukerman G.A. Evaluation of reading literacy. Materials for discussion. URL: https://kimc.ms/soobshchestva/gmo/gmo-ruslit/dokumenty/Читательская %20грамотностьГ.А. %20Цукерман.pdf (date of reference: 21.04.2025). (In Russ.).
  27. Crane W. Theories of development. Secrets of personality formation. Saint Petersburg: Prime-Euroznak, 2002. 509 p. (In Russ.).
  28. Fancourt D., Steptoe A., Cadar D. Community engagement and dementia risk: time-to-event analyses from a national cohort study // Journal of Epidemiol Community Health. 2020. Vol. 74. Pp. 71–77.
  29. Najar J., Ostling S., Gudmundsson P. et al. Cognitive and physical activity and dementia: A 44-year longitudinal population study of women // Neurology. 2019. Vol. 92. Pp. e1322-e1330. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000007021.
  30. Lautenschlager N.T., Cox K.L., Flicker L., Foster J.K., et al. Effect of physical activity on cognitive function in older adults at risk for Alzheimer disease: a randomized trial // JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 2008. Vol. 300(9). Pp. 1027–1037. doi: 10.1001/jama.300.9.1027.
  31. Uda M., Ishido M., Kami K., Masuhara M. Effects of chronic treadmill running on neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus of adult rat // Brain Research. 2006. Vol. 1104. Pp. 64–72. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2006.05.066.
  32. Daviglus M.L., Bell C.C., Berrettini W., Bowen P.E., et al. National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science conference statement: Preventing Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline // Annals of Internal Medicine. 2010. Vol. 153. Pp. 176-181.
  33. Wilson R.S., Scherr P.A., Schneider J.A., Tang Y., Bennett D.A. Relation of cognitive activity to risk of developing Alzheimer disease // Neurology. 2007. Vol. 69(20). Pp. 1911–1920. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000271087.67782.cb.
  34. Stern Y., Gurland B., Tatemichi T.K., Tang M.X., et al. Influence of education and occupation on the incidence of Alzheimer's disease // JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 1994. Vol. 271(13). Pp. 1004–1010. doi: 10.1001/jama.1994.03510370056032.

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Copyright (c) 2025 Eco-Vector

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
СМИ зарегистрировано Федеральной службой по надзору в сфере связи, информационных технологий и массовых коммуникаций (Роскомнадзор).
Регистрационный номер и дата принятия решения о регистрации СМИ: серия ПИ № ФС 77 - 76969 от 11.10.2019.