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

Objective cognition was not associated with the outcomes (all p > .05). Subjective cognition was positively associated with all domains of quality of life, physical health (B = 0.03, p < .001), psychological (B = 0.04, p < .001, social relationships, B = 0.02, p = .004), environment (B = 0.03, p = .004), and perceived everyday functioning (B = 0.02, p = .012). Gender moderated the association between objective cognition and social relationships, such that greater objective cognition was associated with greater quality of life in social relationships for men (B = 0.02, p = .047), but not women (B = -0.02, p = .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).