Measurement and relevance of personality characteristics in persons with dementia: a longitudinal perspective.
Studies of personality and outcomes in persons with dementia (PWD) have focused primarily on disease stages or change from premorbid personality following diagnosis. Data from a longitudinal study of 96 caregiver/PWD dyads was used to evaluate psychometric properties of two personality measures: one rated by proxies, the other by PWD. Proxy ratings indicate change in strength of personality traits across disease stages; self-ratings were stable, excepting decreased extroversion. Items detracting from reliability of some subscales reflected disease-related changes in PWD rather than true shifts in personality. Findings support importance of collecting both proxy and self-ratings of personality, examining individual items contributing to low reliability, and evaluating change in personality within the context of expected changes inherent in dementia.
Twigg
Prudence
P
Indiana University, Indianapolis, USA.
Burgener
Sandy C
SC
Popovich
Ann
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000592:standards*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000592:standards*; D019727:Proxy / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics; D012107:Research Design; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires