How homeless adults perceive their own mental decline matters more than tests show
Researchers found that homeless and precariously housed people's subjective sense of cognitive decline better predicts their quality of life than standard clinical cognition tests do. The finding suggests healthcare providers and social service agencies need to listen to patients' own assessments—not just test scores—to effectively support vulnerable populations.
Originaltitel: Examination of objective and subjective cognition and their association with functional outcomes: A cross-sectional study in a Canadian sample of homeless and precariously housed adults.
OBJECTIVE: Using a cross-sectional design, our aim was to examine whether objective and subjective cognition differentially relate to everyday functioning and quality of life in homeless and precariously housed adults. As an exploratory aim, we examined whether associations between cognition and outcomes differ by age and gender. METHOD: Participants were 88 community-dwelling adults experiencing homelessness or precarious housing in Toronto, Canada. Participants completed measures of objective cognition, subjective cognition, quality of life, and perceived everyday functioning. Linear regressions explored associations between facets of cognition and domains of quality of life and perceived everyday functioning while accounting for covariates. Exploratory models examined interactions between cognition, gender, and age. RESULTS: = .091). CONCLUSIONS: Subjective cognitive measures should be included alongside objective measures to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the needs of homeless populations. Studies should include performance-based functional assessments to clarify the relationship between objective cognition, subjective cognition, and outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).