Understanding reading comprehension in older adults identifying and examining stability, within and between, key components over time

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Good reading comprehension is vital for effective and accurate sharing of information, and it is essential in modern society. Despite this, the most recent Skills for Life Survey revealed that almost 15% of adults in England lack sufficient ability to attain even the lowest grade in GCSE-level English assessments (BIS, 2011). Limitations in the capacity to fully comprehend written information can have significant consequences, complicating critical tasks such as understanding the instructions on medication bottles. Normal age-related changes in cognitive processes imply that older adults could be especially vulnerable to adverse changes in reading comprehension skills (Hannon & Daneman, 2009). This is an important concern because the number of people aged 65+ is projected to increase globally by 383 million by 2030 (He, Goodkind & Kowal, 2016). I propose a project to identify the cognitive resources underlying reading comprehension, and to investigate the stability of these components in older adults. The findings from this project will inform strategies to support effective reading comprehension across the lifespan