Metacognitive beliefs of efficacy about daily life situations and use of cognitive strategies in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a cross-sectional study

Grigoria Bampa; Despina Moraitou; Panagiota Metallidou; Elvira Masoura; Georgia Papantoniou; Maria Sofologi; Georgios Kougioumtzis; Efthymios Papatzikis; Magdalini Tsolaki

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1275678

Metacognitive beliefs of efficacy about daily life situations and use of cognitive strategies in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: a cross-sectional study

Front Psychol. 2024 Feb 13:15:1275678. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1275678. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Grigoria Bampa^{1

2}, Despina Moraitou^{1

2}, Panagiota Metallidou¹, Elvira Masoura¹, Georgia Papantoniou^{3

4}, Maria Sofologi^{3

4}, Georgios Kougioumtzis^{5

6}, Efthymios Papatzikis^{7

8

9}, Magdalini Tsolaki^{2

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Cognition, Brain and Behavior, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
² Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balcan Center, Thessaloniki, Greece.
³ Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Early Childhood Education, School of Education, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
⁴ Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University Research Centre of Ioannina (URCI), Ioannina, Greece.
⁵ Department of Turkish and Modern Asian Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Neapolis University Pafos, Pafos, Cyprus.
⁷ Department of Early Childhood Education and Care, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
⁸ Bright Start Foundation for Maternal and Child Health, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁹ School of Medicine and Health, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
¹⁰ School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
¹¹ Greek Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), Thessaloniki, Greece.

Abstract

Metacognition, the ability to monitor and regulate cognitive processes, is essential for individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to accurately identify their deficits and effectively manage them. However, previous studies primarily focused on memory awareness in MCI, neglecting other domains affected in daily life. This study aimed to investigate how individuals with MCI perceive their abilities to handle various cognitively challenging situations representing real-life scenarios and their use of compensatory strategies. Thus 100 participants were recruited, including 50 with amnestic MCI with multiple deficits (aMCI) and 50 cognitively healthy controls (HC) matched in age and education. Participants completed three metacognitive scales assessing self-perceived efficacy in everyday life scenarios and one scale evaluating use of cognitive strategies. Results indicated that aMCI participants reported significantly lower self-efficacy in memory and divided-shifted attention scenarios compared to HC. Surprisingly, no significant group differences were found in the self-reports about the use of cognitive strategies. This suggests a potential gap in understanding or applying effective strategies for compensating cognitive deficits. These findings emphasize the importance of cognitive training programs targeting metacognitive knowledge enhancement and practical use of cognitive strategies that could enhance the quality of life for individuals with MCI.

Keywords: attention; cognitive strategies; metacognition; mild cognitive impairment; self-efficacy.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of the article. This research is co-financed by the Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) through the Operational Programme «Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning» in the context of the project “Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research—2nd Cycle” (MIS-5000432), implemented by the State Scholarships Foundation (IKY).