Personality and psychological health in persons with mild cognitive impairment.
An increasing number of studies have documented the cognitive profile of individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), but few studies have investigated the individuals' psychological health and personality traits or how these factors interact with cognition. In the present study, 27 healthy older adults and 30 persons with MCI completed questionnaires covering psychological health, morale, personality, self-efficacy, and self-actualization. The results indicated that individuals with MCI are more depressed, anxious, hostile, and have lower morale than matched healthy older adults. Furthermore, our results show a positive association between the level of depression of MCI persons and the severity of their cognitive dysfunctions. In contrast, there were no group differences on measures of personality traits. Thus, while psychological distress is present in persons with MCI, those individuals are not characterized by differences in personality traits relative to older adults who experience no cognitive impairment.
Research Center, Institut Universitaire de Gériatre de Montréal and Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
Francis
F
Clément
Sylvie
S
Belleville
Sara
S
Bélanger
Véronique
V
Chassé
D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D009013:Morale; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010551:Personality; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires