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Barriers to the construction of a valued social identity: a case study of Alzheimer's disease
Steven R Sabat1, Lisa Napolitano, Heather Fath
1Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
Abstract:
This case study describes a person with mild-to-moderate stage Alzheimer's disease (AD) and examines the relationship between malignant positioning and the ability of a person with AD to gain the cooperation of healthy persons to construct a valued social identity. Findings reveal that malignant positioning limited the person with AD to the embarrassing social identity of dysfunctional patient; whereas, the absence of such positioning allowed the subject to gain the cooperation from others necessary to construct a valued social identity, as well as reduce embarrassment and experience greater sense of self-worth. Preliminary recommendations on reducing malignant positioning are provided. Further research is required to elucidate the degree to which the present findings may be generalized.
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