title: Personality characteristics of staff in elderly care-a cross-cultural comparison.
abstract: Communication and interaction between carers and residents in elderly and dementia care can be challenging and demanding. The carer's personality, one factor shaping this interaction, seems to have been neglected in the literature. This article looks at cross-cultural comparisons of staff in elderly and dementia care with individuals from the general population matched by age and gender. Compared to individuals in the general population, elderly and dementia care staff are usually slower tempered, more stoic and reflective, tolerant to monotony, and more systematic. They also have more optimistic attitudes in situations that might worry most people, and more confidence in social situations and in the face of danger and uncertainty.
authors.affiliation: Rostock University, Faculty of Philosophy, Rostock, Germany and Regional Centre of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Oslo, Norway. jrichterj@web.de
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.forename: Sture
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aström
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Isaksson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D002321:Career Choice; D002605:Character; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D013548:Sweden; D013694:Temperament