Self-Efficacy and Memory Assessment in Elderly: An Exploratory Analysis

Abstract It is an exploratory, cross-sectional and quantitative study whose objective was to verify memory and self-efficacy alterations in 110 older adults, with a mean of 70.50 years. We used a sociodemographic questionnaire, a subjective memory perception test, the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire, and The Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. The seniors were evaluated in a single moment, individually, for about 60 minutes. The results of the memory test were within the expected standards for age and schooling, with a slightly inferior performance in working memory and negative perception of memory self-efficacy (82.70%). Such performance was associated with subjective memory complaints (99.10%), which can be explained by socio-cultural paradigms negatively linked to the aging process.