A profile of identity in early-stage dementia and a comparison with healthy older people

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine whether people in the early stages of dementia experience their sense of identity differently to healthy older people and to examine whether different aspects of identity are related to each other in each group. This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study; 50 people with early-stage dementia and 50 age-matched people without dementia completed measures pertaining to different aspects of identity. Measures of mood and self-esteem were also included so that any differences could be taken into account in the analysis. There were very few differences in identity between the groups. After differences in levels of anxiety were accounted for, there were no differences in scores on most measures of identity. However, people in the early stages of dementia scored significantly lower on one subtotal for one measure of identity, whereas healthy older adults reported significantly more identity-related distress than people in the early stages of dementia. For both groups, there were no associations between different aspects of identity. People in the early stages of dementia do not differ much from healthy older adults in terms of their identity. Since healthy older people experience more distress relating to identity, they may be more likely to benefit from some sort of intervention than people in the early stages of dementia. It might be useful to consider identity as consisting of multiple components in future studies, rather than assuming that one aspect of identity represents the overall experience of identity.

Autobiographical memory and well-being in aging: The central role of semantic self-images

“…It is thus possible that more advanced memory loss would have a greater impact on well-being (e.g., Llewellyn et al, 2008;Wilson et al, 2013). The question of how memory, well-being, and identity are inter-related in dementia is complex, and recent papers on the topic have highlighted the importance of studying identity using a range of approaches (e.g., Caddell & Clare, 2013).…”

Social positioning by people with Alzheimer's disease in a support group

“…In contrast, Clare and Caddell (2013b), in a study of people with early stage DD, found that the relationship between autobiographical memory and identity was weak, and likely to be more complex than previously assumed. When comparing this group to older people without DD, they found very few differences in sense of identity between the groups (Caddell & Clare, 2013a). There has also been research indicating that people with DD have intact knowledge of their previous selves, but are unable to update their self-knowledge with changes occurring since they developed DD (Klein, Cosmides, & Costabile, 2003;Mograbi, Brown, & Morris, 2009).…”

What contributes to a good quality of life in early dementia? awareness and the QoL-AD: a cross-sectional study

“…Higher scores indicate stronger self-concept and greater conscientiousness respectively. These scales were selected as relatively brief, established indicators of the domains in question in the general population, that have all been used and found suitable in previous studies with people with early dementia [16,33]. The person with dementia also rated the quality of his/her relationship with the care-giver, using the 5-item Positive Affect Index [34], with higher scores reflecting a more positive relationship.…”