Narrative speech in aging: Quantity, information content and cohesion

This study examined age-related changes in narrative speech of 79 adults aged 40–91 who told stories from their pictorial representations.
Quantity, information content and cohesion of narratives were analysed using a detailed transcription and codification
system. We carried out a LISREL analysis to study relationships between narrative performance and age, level of education and
verbal capacity. Our results showed that aging increases quantity, reduces density of informational content and cohesive reference
of narratives and increases the units of irrelevant content. Verbal capacity measured by a vocabulary test improves content and
cohesion. The implications of the findings for the cognitive deficit and pragmatic change explanations of narrative speech are
discussed.