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Highlighting and Reducing the Impact of Negative Aging Stereotypes During Older Adults' Cognitive Testing
Published on: January 24, 2020
Why don't older adults with subjective memory complaints seek help?
Catherine S Hurt1, Alistair Burns, Richard G Brown
1Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK. Catherine.hurt@kcl.ac.uk
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
|May 12, 2011
Summary
Beliefs about memory, not objective cognitive decline, influence seeking help for subjective memory complaints (SMCs). Understanding these perceptions can encourage earlier dementia care.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Cognitive Neurology
- Health Psychology
Background:
- Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are prevalent in older adults, causing distress and predicting cognitive decline.
- Help-seeking rates for memory issues are low, with limited understanding of decision-making factors.
- The common-sense model of illness perception is a framework for understanding health-related behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate factors influencing help-seeking decisions in individuals with SMCs.
- To apply the common-sense model of illness perception to understand help-seeking behavior in SMCs.
Main Methods:
- Assessed cognition, illness perceptions, coping styles, depression, and anxiety in 98 adults (≥50 years) with SMCs.
- Included participants attending a memory clinic (n=60) and non-help-seekers (n=38).
- Used logistic regression to analyze predictors of help-seeking behavior.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in objective cognitive performance between help-seekers and non-help-seekers.
- Illness perceptions, including social comparison and causal attributions, predicted help-seeking.
- Help-seeking was associated with having a close relative with dementia; general coping style did not predict help-seeking.
Conclusions:
- Beliefs about memory significantly influence the decision to seek help for SMCs, more so than objective cognitive status.
- Challenging negative causal attributions about memory problems may encourage help-seeking.
- Interventions focusing on illness perceptions can improve early dementia care and support for individuals with SMCs.
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