title: Interracial and intraracial differences in neuropsychiatric symptoms, sociodemography, and treatment among nursing home patients with dementia.
abstract: Using an adaptation of George's (1989) social antecedent model of psychopathology, this article examines interracial and intraracial differences in neuropsychiatric symptoms, sociodemography, and treatment among nursing home patients with dementia. The final sample consisted of 164 U.S.-born African Americans, 54 African Caribbeans, and 68 Caucasians. Although there were appreciable interracial differences in sociodemographics, there were minimal clinical differences. This finding may reflect both racial differences in pathways to institutionalization and the homogenization of clinical characteristics created by new governmental standards for nursing homes. There were no substantial differences between African Americans and African Caribbeans. Use of medication to treat neuropsychiatric symptoms was low, and may have reflected difficulties in diagnosis and concerns about the abuse of medications.
authors.affiliation: SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn 11203, USA.
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hyland
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Magai
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009518:New York; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014900:West Indies / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data