Association of majority versus minority first language multilingualism and socioeconomic status with cognition among older adults residing in India.

INTRODUCTION

Multilingualism has been proposed as a protective factor against cognitive aging, but its effects are often intertwined with socioeconomic and sociolinguistic contexts, particularly whether an individual's first language is the societal majority or a minority language.

METHODS

We analyzed data from 3854 older adults in the Longitudinal Aging Study in India-Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia (LASI-DAD). Participants were classified as monolingual, majority-language multilingual, or minority-language multilingual. Cognitive outcomes were examined across SES strata using multiple-group models.

RESULTS

Higher SES was consistently associated with better cognition. Multilingualism was associated with better cognitive performance at medium and high SES levels, but not at low SES. Among multilinguals, majority-language speakers outperformed minority-language speakers at high SES; however, these differences were largely driven by SES advantages among majority-language speakers.

DISCUSSION: Cognitive benefits of multilingualism are not uniform but vary by SES. These findings underscore the importance of context in understanding multilingualism and cognitive aging.