Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:28:58.082Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 4 - Living Meaningfully with Dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2022

By
Laura Dewitte ,
Gørill Haugan ,
Mathieu Vandenbulcke  and
Jessie Dezutter
Edited by
Mathieu Vandenbulcke ,
Rose-Marie Dröes  and
Erik Schokkaert
Mathieu Vandenbulcke
Affiliation:
KU Leuven, Belgium
Rose-Marie Dröes
Affiliation:
Amsterdam University Medical Centre
Erik Schokkaert
Affiliation:
KU Leuven, Belgium
Get access

Summary

Meaning in life has recently grown into an important study domain within psychology, with accumulating evidence pointing to the experience of meaning as an important aspect of human functioning and a psychological strength in challenging times. It may therefore be a prime candidate for supporting the functioning of adults with dementia, but there is room for improvement in the integration of meaning in life into dementia research and practice. To facilitate progress in this area, the current chapter provides a broad introduction on meaning in life and dementia. We first discuss the state-of-the-art in meaning in life research - its conceptualization and important correlates. Next we discuss the available empirical work on the experience of meaning for people with dementia. This is followed by a reflection on how meaning in life can be understood in terms of a felt sense and a relational construction, demonstrating our societal responsibility in supporting a meaningful life for people with dementia. We end with some suggestions on how we may seek to do this.

Keywords

meaning in lifepersonal meaningpsychological well-beingeudaimoniaAlzheimer’s diseaseold agenursing homesresidential care
Type
Chapter
Information
Dementia and Society , pp. 63 - 80
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Frankl, VE. Man’s Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1968.Google Scholar
Frankl, VE. Man’s Search for Meaning: Revised and Updated. New York, Washington Square Press, 1984.Google Scholar
Maddi, SR. The existential neurosis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1967; 72(4): 311–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maslow, AH. Toward a Psychology of Being. 2nd ed. New York, D. Van Nostrand Company, 1968.Google Scholar
Yalom, ID. Existential Psychotherapy. New York, Basic Books, 1980.Google Scholar
Greening, T. Existential challenges and responses. The Humanistic Psychologist 1992; 20(1): 111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batthyany, A, Russo-Netzer, P. Psychologies of meaning. In Batthyany, A, Russo-Netzer, P, eds. Meaning in Positive and Existential Psychology. New York, Springer, 2014; 3–22.Google Scholar
Seligman, ME. Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. New York, Free Press, 2002.Google Scholar
Debats, DL. Sources of meaning: An investigation of significant commitments in life. Journal of Humanistic Psychology 1999; 39(4): 30–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, PTP. Implicit theories of meaningful life and the development of the personal meaning profile. In Wong, PTP, Fry, PS, eds. The Human Quest for Meaning: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Clinical Applications. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998; 111–40.Google Scholar
Delle Fave, A, Brdar, I, Wissing, MP, Vella-Brodrick, DA. Sources and motives for personal meaning in adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2013; 8(6): 517–29.Google Scholar
Bar-Tur, L, Savaya, R, Prager, E. Sources of meaning in life for young and old Israeli Jews and Arabs. Journal of Aging Studies 2001; 15(3): 253–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schnell, T. The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe): Relations to demographics and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2009; 4(6): 483–99.Google Scholar
McDonald, MJ, Wong, PT, Gingras, DT. Meaning-in-life measures and development of a brief version of the Personal Meaning Profile. In Wong, PTP, ed. The Human Quest for Meaning: Theories, Research, and Applications. New York, Routledge, 2012; 357–82.Google Scholar
Glaw, X, Kable, A, Hazelton, M, Inder, K. Meaning in life and meaning of life in mental health care: An integrative literature review. Issues in Mental Health Nursing 2017; 38(3): 243–52.Google ScholarPubMed
Lambert, NM, Stillman, TF, Baumeister, RF, Fincham, FD, Hicks, JA, Graham, SM. Family as a salient source of meaning in young adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2010; 5(5): 367–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grouden, ME, Jose, PE. How do sources of meaning in life vary according to demographic factors? New Zealand Journal of Psychology 2014; 43(3): 29–38.Google Scholar
O’Connor, K, Chamberlain, K. Dimensions of life meaning: A qualitative investigation at mid‐life. British Journal of Psychology 1996; 87(3): 461–77.Google Scholar
Pedersen, HF, Birkeland, MH, Jensen, JS, Schnell, T, Hvidt, NC, Sørensen, T, et al. What brings meaning to life in a highly secular society? A study on sources of meaning among Danes. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 2018; 59(6): 678–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reker, GT, Wong, PTP. Aging as an individual process: Toward a theory of personal meaning. In Birren, J, Bengston, V, eds. Emergent Theories of Aging. New York, Springer, 1988.Google Scholar
Baumeister, RF. Meanings of Life. New York, Guilford Press; 1991.Google Scholar
Wong, PTP. Toward a dual-systems model of what makes life worth living. In The Human Quest for Meaning. New York, Routledge, 2013; 49–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derkx, P. The future of humanism. In Copson, A, Graylin, A, eds. The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism. Hoboken, NJ, Wiley & Sons, 2015; 426–39.Google Scholar
Baumeister, RF, Landau, MJ. Finding the meaning of meaning: Emerging insights on four grand questions. Review of General Psychology 2018; 22(1): 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martela, F, Steger, MF. The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2016; 11(5): 531–45.Google Scholar
George, LS, Park, CL. Meaning in life as comprehension, purpose, and mattering: Toward integration and new research questions. Review of General Psychology 2016; 20(3): 205–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heintzelman, SJ, King, LA. (The feeling of) meaning-as-information. Personality and Social Psychology Review 2014; 18(2): 153–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steger, MF, Frazier, P, Oishi, S, Kaler, M. The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology 2006; 53(1): 80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steger, MF, Kawabata, Y, Shimai, S, Otake, K. The meaningful life in Japan and the United States: Levels and correlates of meaning in life. Journal of Research in Personality 2008; 42(3): 660–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steger, MF, Kashdan, TB, Sullivan, BA, Lorentz, D. Understanding the search for meaning in Life: Personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning. Journal of Personality 2008; 76(2): 199–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, CL, Folkman, S. Meaning in the context of stress and coping. Review of General Psychology 1997; 1(2): 115–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heine, SJ, Proulx, T, Vohs, K. The meaning maintenance model: On the coherence of social motivations. Personality and Social Psychology Review 2006; 10(2): 88–110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, CL. Making sense of the meaning literature: An integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin 2010; 136(2): 257–301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Czekierda, K, Banik, A, Park, CL, Luszczynska, A. Meaning in life and physical health: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Psychology Review 2017; 11(4): 387–418.Google Scholar
Roepke, AM, Jayawickreme, E, Riffle, OM. Meaning and health: A systematic review. Applied Research in Quality of Life 2014; 9(4): 1055–79.Google Scholar
Ryff, CD, Heller, AS, Schaefer, SM, Van Reekum, C, Davidson, RJ. Purposeful engagement, healthy aging, and the brain. Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports 2016; 3(4): 318–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haugan, G. Meaning‐in‐life in nursing‐home patients: A valuable approach for enhancing psychological and physical well‐being? Journal of Clinical Nursing 2014; 23(13–14): 1830–44.Google ScholarPubMed
Ong, AD, Patterson, A. Eudaimonia, aging, and health: A review of underlying mechanisms. In Vittersø, J, ed. Handbook of Eudaimonic Well-Being. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Cham, Springer, 2016; 371–8.Google Scholar
Hooker, SA, Masters, KS, Park, CL. A meaningful life is a healthy life: A conceptual model linking meaning and meaning salience to health. Review of General Psychology 2018; 22(1): 11–24.Google Scholar
Steger, MF. Experiencing meaning in life: Optimal functioning at the nexus of well-being, psychopathology, and spirituality. In Wong, PTP, ed. The Human Quest for Meaning: Theories, Research, and Applications. 2nd ed. New York, Routledge, 2012; 165–84.Google Scholar
Disabato, DJ, Kashdan, TB, Short, JL, Jarden, A. What predicts positive life events that influence the course of depression? A longitudinal examination of gratitude and meaning in life. Cognitive Therapy and Research 2017; 41(3): 444–58.Google Scholar
Park, CL, Knott, CL, Williams, RM, Clark, EM, Williams, BR, Schulz, E. Meaning in life predicts decreased depressive symptoms and increased positive affect over time but does not buffer stress effects in a national sample of African-Americans. Journal of Happiness Studies 2020: 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mascaro, N, Rosen, DH. Assessment of existential meaning and its longitudinal relations with depressive symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 2008; 27(6): 576–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dezutter, J, Luyckx, K, Wachholtz, A. Meaning in life in chronic pain patients over time: Associations with pain experience and psychological well-being. Journal of Behavioral Medicine 2015; 38(2): 384–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, J, Baumeister, RF. Meaning in life and adjustment to daily stressors. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2017; 12(4): 333–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Janoff-Bulman, R. Posttraumatic growth: Three explanatory models. Psychological Inquiry 2004; 15(1): 30–4.Google Scholar
Davis, CG, Nolen-Hoeksema, S, Larson, J. Making sense of loss and benefiting from the experience: Two construals of meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1998; 75(2): 561–74.Google Scholar
Reker, GT, Wong, PTP. Personal meaning in life and psychosocial adaptation in the later years. In Wong, PTP, ed. The Human Quest for Meaning: Theories, Research, and Applications. 2nd ed. New York, Routledge, 2012; 433–56.Google Scholar
Gana, K, Bailly, N, Saada, Y, Joulain, M, Alaphilippe, D. Does life satisfaction change in old age: Results from an 8-year longitudinal study. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2012; 68(4): 540–52.Google Scholar
Steger, MF, Oishi, S, Kashdan, TB. Meaning in life across the life span: Levels and correlates of meaning in life from emerging adulthood to older adulthood. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2009; 4(1): 43–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pinquart, M. Creating and maintaining purpose in life in old age: A meta-analysis. Ageing International 2002; 27(2): 90–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, PL, Weston, SJ. Evaluating eight-year trajectories for sense of purpose in the health and retirement study. Aging & Mental Health 2019; 23(2): 233–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tornstam, L. Gero-transcendence: A reformulation of the disengagement theory. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research 1989; 1(1): 55–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tornstam, L. Gerotranscendence: The contemplative dimension of aging. Journal of Aging Studies 1997; 11(2): 143–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, GD. The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain. New York, Basic Books, 2005.Google Scholar
Leder, D. Aging into the spirit: From traditional wisdom to innovative programs and communities. Generations 1999; 23(4): 36.Google Scholar
Hupkens, S, Machielse, A, Goumans, M, Derkx, P. Meaning in life of older persons: An integrative literature review. Nursing Ethics 2018; 25(8): 973–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Volkert, J, Härter, M, Dehoust, MC, Ausín, B, Canuto, A, Da Ronch, C, et al. The role of meaning in life in community-dwelling older adults with depression and relationship to other risk factors. Aging & Mental Health 2019; 23(1): 100–6.Google Scholar
Steptoe, A, Fancourt, D. Leading a meaningful life at older ages and its relationship with social engagement, prosperity, health, biology, and time use. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2019; 116(4): 1207–12.Google Scholar
Reker, GT. Prospective predictors of successful aging in community-residing and institutionalized Canadian elderly. Ageing International 2002; 27(1): 42–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krause, N. Evaluating the stress-buffering function of meaning in life among older people. Journal of Aging and Health 2007; 19(5): 792–812.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Irving, J, Davis, S, Collier, A. Aging with purpose: Systematic search and review of literature pertaining to older adults and purpose. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development 2017; 85(4): 403–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, G, Shin, SH, Scicolone, MA, Parmelee, P. Purpose in life protects against cognitive decline among older adults. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2019; 27(6): 593–601.Google Scholar
Wingo, AP, Wingo, TS, Fan, W, Bergquist, S, Alonso, A, Marcus, M, et al. Purpose in life is a robust protective factor of reported cognitive decline among late middle-aged adults: The Emory Healthy Aging Study. Journal of Affective Disorders 2020; 263: 310–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyle, PA, Buchman, AS, Barnes, LL, Bennett, DA. Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Archives of General Psychiatry 2010; 67(3): 304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Windsor, TD, Curtis, RG, Luszcz, MA. Sense of purpose as a psychological resource for aging well. Developmental Psychology 2015; 51(7): 975.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gleeson, H, Hafford-Letchfield, T, Quaife, M, Collins, DA, Flynn, A. Preventing and responding to depression, self-harm, and suicide in older people living in long term care settings: a systematic review. Aging & Mental Health 2019; 23(11): 1467–77.Google Scholar
Anstey, KJ, Von Sanden, C, Sargent-Cox, K, Luszcz, MA. Prevalence and risk factors for depression in a longitudinal, population-based study including individuals in the community and residential care. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2007; 15(6): 497–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fry, PS. Religious involvement, spirituality and personal meaning for life: Existential predictors of psychological wellbeing in community-residing and institutional care elders. Aging & Mental Health 2000; 4(4): 375–87.Google Scholar
Haugan, G. Meaning‐in‐life in nursing‐home patients: A correlate with physical and emotional symptoms. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2014; 23(7–8): 1030–43.Google ScholarPubMed
Van der Heyden, K, Dezutter, J, Beyers, W. Meaning in life and depressive symptoms: A person-oriented approach in residential and community-dwelling older adults. Aging & Mental Health 2015; 19(12): 1063–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haugan, G. Life satisfaction in cognitively intact long-term nursing-home patients: Symptom distress, well-being and nurse-patient interaction. In Sarracino, FM, ed. Beyond Money: The Social Roots of Health and Well-Being. New York, Nova Science, 2014.Google Scholar
Baumeister, RF, Vohs, KD, Aaker, JL, Garbinsky, EN. Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2013; 8(6): 505–16.Google Scholar
Krause, N. Thought suppression and meaning in life: A longitudinal investigation. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development 2007; 64(1): 67–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, RS, Boyle, PA, Segawa, E, Yu, L, Begeny, CT, Anagnos, SE, et al. The influence of cognitive decline on well-being in old age. Psychology and Aging 2013; 28(2): 304.Google Scholar
McKnight, PE, Kashdan, TB. Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative, testable theory. Review of General Psychology 2009; 13(3): 242–51.Google Scholar
Waytz, A, Hershfield, HE, Tamir, DI. Mental simulation and meaning in life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2015; 108(2): 336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vess, M, Hoeldtke, R, Leal, SA, Sanders, CS, Hicks, JA. The subjective quality of episodic future thought and the experience of meaning in life. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2017; 13(4): 419–28.Google Scholar
Takkinen, S, Ruoppila, I. Meaning in life in three samples of elderly persons with high cognitive functioning. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development 2001; 53(1): 51–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simm, LA, Jamieson, RD, Ong, B, Garner, MW, Kinsella, GJ. Making sense of self in Alzheimer’s disease: Reflective function and memory. Aging & Mental Health 2015; 21(5): 501–8.Google ScholarPubMed
Holst, G, Hallberg, IR. Exploring the meaning of everyday life, for those suffering from dementia. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias 2003; 18(6): 359–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jetten, J, Haslam, C, Pugliese, C, Tonks, J, Haslam, SA. Declining autobiographical memory and the loss of identity: Effects on well-being. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology 2010; 32(4): 408–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bender, M, Cheston, R. Inhabitants of a lost kingdom: A model of the subjective experiences of dementia. Ageing and Society 1997; 17(5): 513–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svanström, R, Sundler, AJ. Gradually losing one’s foothold: A fragmented existence when living alone with dementia. Dementia 2015; 14(2): 145–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, PB. The perspective of younger people with dementia: Still an overlooked population. Social Work in Mental Health 2004; 2(4): 17–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenwood, N, Smith, R. The experiences of people with young-onset dementia: A meta-ethnographic review of the qualitative literature. Maturitas 2016; 92: 102–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rostad, D, Hellzén, O, Enmarker, I. The meaning of being young with dementia and living at home. Nursing Reports 2013; 3(1): e3-e.Google Scholar
Menne, HL, Kinney, JM, Morhardt, DJ. ‘Trying to continue to do as much as they can do’: Theoretical insights regarding continuity and meaning making in the face of dementia. Dementia 2002; 1(3): 367–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Westius, A, Kallenberg, K, Norberg, A. Views of life and sense of identity in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Ageing & Society 2010; 30(7): 1257–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genoe, MR, Dupuis, SL. The role of leisure within the dementia context. Dementia 2014; 13(1): 33–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harmer, BJ, Orrell, M. What is meaningful activity for people with dementia living in care homes? A comparison of the views of older people with dementia, staff and family carers. Aging and Mental Health 2008; 12(5): 548–58.Google Scholar
Phinney, A. Horizons of meaning in dementia: Retained and shifting narratives. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging 2011; 23(3): 254–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beard, RL, Knauss, J, Moyer, D. Managing disability and enjoying life: How we reframe dementia through personal narratives. Journal of Aging Studies 2009; 23(4): 227–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, JM. Finding meaning in everyday life with dementia: A case study. Dementia 2014; 13(4): 525–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steeman, E, Tournoy, J, Grypdonck, M, Godderis, J, De Casterlé, BD. Managing identity in early-stage dementia: Maintaining a sense of being valued. Ageing & Society 2013; 33(2): 216–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewitte, L, Van Wijngaarden, E, Schellekens, T, Vandenbulcke, M, Dezutter, J. (2021). Continuing to participate in the dance of life as oneself: The lived experience of meaning in life for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease. The Gerontologist 2021; 61(7): 1019–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dewitte, L, Schellekens, T, Steger, MF, Martela, F, Vanhooren, S, Vandenbulcke, M, Dezutter, J. What can we learn about the concept of meaning in life from older adults with Alzheimer’s disease? A directed content analysis study. Journal of Happiness Studies 2021; 22: 2845–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00351-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewitte, L, Vandenbulcke, M, Schellekens, T, Dezutter, J. Sources of well-being for older adults with and without dementia in residential care: Relations to presence of meaning and life satisfaction. Aging & Mental Health 2019: 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trevitt, C, MacKinlay, E. ‘I am just an ordinary person … ’: Spiritual reminiscence in older people with memory loss. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging 2006; 18(2–3): 79–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steger, MF, Samman, E. Assessing meaning in life on an international scale: Psychometric evidence for the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Short Form among Chilean households. International Journal of Wellbeing 2012; 2(3): 182–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewitte, L, Hill, PL, Vandenbulcke, M, Dezutter, J. The longitudinal relationship between meaning in life, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and cognitive functioning for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease. European Journal of Ageing (accepted).Google Scholar
Dewitte, L, Vandenbulcke, M, Dezutter, J. Meaning in life matters for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease in residential care: Associations with life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. International Psychogeriatrics 2019: 1–9.Google Scholar
Nolen-Hoeksema, S, Davis, CG. Positive responses to loss: Perceiving benefits and growth. In Snyder, CR, Lopez, S, eds. Handbook of Positive Psychology. New York, Oxford University Press, 2002; 598–606.Google Scholar
Dröes, R-M, Boelens-Van Der Knoop, ECC, Bos, J, Meihuizen, L, Ettema, TP, Gerritsen, DL, et al. Quality of life in dementia in perspective: An explorative study of variations in opinions among people with dementia and their professional caregivers, and in literature. Dementia 2006; 5(4): 533–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Vliet, D, Persoon, A, Bakker, C, Koopmans, RT, de Vugt, ME, Bielderman, A, et al. Feeling useful and engaged in daily life: Exploring the experiences of people with young-onset dementia. International Psychogeriatrics 2017; 29(11): 1889–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aftab, A, Jeste, DV. Well-being in dementia and mild cognitive impairment. International Psychogeriatrics 2019; 31(5): 603–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolverson, E, Clarke, C, Moniz-Cook, E. Living positively with dementia: A systematic review and synthesis of the qualitative literature. Aging & Mental Health 2016; 20(7): 676–99.Google Scholar
Lin, S-Y, Lewis, FM. Dementia friendly, dementia capable, and dementia positive: Concepts to prepare for the future. The Gerontologist 2015; 55(2): 237–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, PB, Keady, J. Wisdom, resilience and successful aging: Changing public discourses on living with dementia. Dementia 2008; 7(1): 5–8.Google Scholar
Clarke, C, Wolverson, E. Positive Psychology Approaches to Dementia. Clarke, C, Wolverson, E, eds. London, Jessica Kingsley, 2016.Google Scholar
Lamont, RA, Nelis, SM, Quinn, C, Martyr, A, Rippon, I, Kopelman, MD, et al. Psychological predictors of ‘living well’ with dementia: Findings from the IDEAL study. Aging & Mental Health 2020; 24(6): 956–64.Google Scholar
Thorgrimsen, L, Selwood, A, Spector, A, Royan, L, de Madariaga Lopez, M, Woods, R, et al. Whose quality of life is it anyway? The validity and reliability of the Quality of Life-Alzheimer’s Disease (QoL-AD) scale. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders 2003; 17(4): 201–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schütz, A, Baumeister, RF. Positive illusions and the happy mind. In Robinson, MD, Eid, M, eds. The Happy Mind: Cognitive Contributions to Well-Being. Cham, Springer International, 2017; 177–93.Google Scholar
Taylor, SE, Brown, JD. Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychological Bulletin 1988; 103(2): 193.Google Scholar
Taylor, SE, Kemeny, ME, Reed, GM, Bower, JE, Gruenewald, TL. Psychological resources, positive illusions, and health. The American Psychologist 2000; 55(1): 99–109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunn, DS. Positive meaning and illusions following disability: Reality negotiation, normative interpretation, and value change. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 1994; 9(5): 123.Google Scholar
Post, SG. The concept of Alzheimer disease in a hypercognitive society. In Whitehouse, PJ, Maurer, K, Ballenger, JF, eds. Concepts of Alzheimer Disease: Biological, Clinical and Cultural Perspectives. Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000; 245–56.Google Scholar
Post, SG. Respectare: Moral respect for the lives of the deeply forgetful. In Hughes, JC, Louw, SJ, Sabat, SR, eds. Dementia: Mind, Meaning, and the Person. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006, 223.Google Scholar
Post, SG. The Moral Challenge of Alzheimer Disease: Ethical Issues from Diagnosis to Dying. Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.Google Scholar
Gendlin, ET. Experiencing and the Creation of Meaning: A Philosophical and Psychological Approach to the Subjective. Evanston, IL, Northwestern University Press, 1962/97.Google Scholar
Gendlin, ET. Experiential psychotherapy. In Corsini, R, ed. Current Psychotherapies. Itasca, Peacock, 1973; 317–52.Google Scholar
Greenberg, LS, Pascual-Leone, J. A dialectical constructivist view of the creation of personal meaning. Journal of Constructivist Psychology 2001; 14(3): 165–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, CE. Meaning in Life: A Therapist’s Guide. Washington, DC, American Psychological Association, 2018.Google Scholar
Hill, CE, Kline, KV, Miller, M, Marks, E, Pinto-Coelho, K, Zetzer, H. Development of the Meaning in Life measure. Counselling Psychology Quarterly 2019; 32(2): 205–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heintzelman, SJ, King, LA. On knowing more than we can tell: Intuitive processes and the experience of meaning. The Journal of Positive Psychology 2013; 8(6): 471–82.Google Scholar
Heintzelman, SJ, King, LA. Meaning in life and intuition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2016; 110(3): 477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vanhooren, S. Struggling with meaninglessness: A case study from an experiential–existential perspective. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies 2019; 18(1): 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salthouse, TA. Consequences of age-related cognitive declines. Annual Review of Psychology 2012; 63: 201–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sternberg, RJ, Wagner, RK. Practical Intelligence: Nature and Origins of Competence in the Everyday World. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Archive, 1986.Google Scholar
Kunzmann, U, Baltes, PB. Beyond the Traditional Scope of Intelligence: Wisdom in Action. Models of Intelligence: International Perspectives. Washington, DC, American Psychological Association, 2003; 329–43.Google Scholar
Kontos, P, Martin, W. Embodiment and dementia: Exploring critical narratives of selfhood, surveillance, and dementia care. Dementia 2013; 12(3): 288–302.Google Scholar
Drayson, Z, Clark, A. Cognitive disability and embodied, extended minds. In Wasserman, DT, Cureton, A, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Disability. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2020.Google Scholar
Matthews, E. Dementia and the identity of the person. In Hughes, JC, Louw, SJ, Sabat, SR, eds. Dementia: Mind, Meaning, and the Person. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006; 163.Google Scholar
Bellin, ZJ. The meaning connection between mindfulness and happiness. The Journal of Humanistic Counseling 2015; 54(3): 221–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kontos, PC. Ethnographic reflections on selfhood, embodiment and Alzheimer’s disease. Ageing & Society 2004; 24(6): 829–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughes, JC, Louw, SJ, Sabat, SR. Seeing whole. In Hughes, JC, Louw, SJ, Sabat, SR, eds. Dementia: Mind, Meaning, and the Person. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2006; 1.Google Scholar
Nyman, A, Josephsson, S, Isaksson, G. Being part of an enacted togetherness: Narratives of elderly people with depression. Journal of Aging Studies 2012; 26(4): 410–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hydén, LC, Örulv, L. Narrative and identity in Alzheimer’s disease: A case study. Journal of Aging Studies 2009; 23(4): 205–14.Google Scholar
Hydén, L-C. Narrative collaboration and scaffolding in dementia. Journal of Aging Studies 2011; 25(4): 339–47.Google Scholar
Delle Fave, A, Soosai-Nathan, L. Meaning as inter-connectedness: Theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence. Journal of Psychology in Africa 2014; 24(1): 53–68.Google Scholar
Drageset, J, Haugan, G, Tranvåg, O. Crucial aspects promoting meaning and purpose in life: Perceptions of nursing home residents. BMC Geriatrics 2017; 17(1): 254.Google Scholar
Edvardsson, D, Winblad, B, Sandman, P-O. Person-centred care of people with severe Alzheimer’s disease: Current status and ways forward. The Lancet Neurology 2008; 7(4): 362–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haugan, G, Kuven, BM, Eide, WM, Taasen, SE, Rinnan, E, Xi, Wu V, et al. Nurse–patient interaction and self-transcendence: Assets for a meaningful life in nursing home residents? BMC Geriatrics 2020; 20(1): 168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haugan, G. The relationship between nurse–patient interaction and meaning‐in‐life in cognitively intact nursing home patients. Journal of Advanced Nursing 2014; 70(1): 107–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGovern, J. Couple meaning-making and dementia: Challenges to the deficit model. Journal of Gerontological Social Work 2011; 54(7): 678–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quinn, C, Clare, L, Woods, RT. What predicts whether caregivers of people with dementia find meaning in their role? International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2012; 27(11): 1195–1202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shim, B, Barroso, J, Gilliss, CL, Davis, LL. Finding meaning in caring for a spouse with dementia. Applied Nursing Research 2013; 26(3): 121–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McLennon, SM, Habermann, B, Rice, M. Finding meaning as a mediator of burden on the health of caregivers of spouses with dementia. Aging & Mental Health 2011; 15(4): 522–30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Polenick, CA, Sherman, CW, Birditt, KS, Zarit, SH, Kales, HC. Purpose in life among family care partners managing dementia: Links to caregiving gains. The Gerontologist 2019; 59(5): e424–e432.Google ScholarPubMed
Park, CL, Pustejovsky, JE, Trevino, K, Sherman, AC, Esposito, C, Berendsen, M, et al. Effects of psychosocial interventions on meaning and purpose in adults with cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Cancer 2019; 125(14): 2383–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ching-Teng, Y, Ya-Ping, Y, Chia-Ju, L, Hsiu-Yueh, L. Effect of group reminiscence therapy on depression and perceived meaning of life of veterans diagnosed with dementia at veteran homes. Social Work in Health Care 2020; 59(2): 75–90.Google Scholar
Wu, LF, Koo, M. Randomized controlled trial of a six‐week spiritual reminiscence intervention on hope, life satisfaction, and spiritual well‐being in elderly with mild and moderate dementia. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2016; 31(2): 120–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacKinlay, E, Trevitt, C. Living in aged care: Using spiritual reminiscence to enhance meaning in life for those with dementia. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing 2010; 19(6): 394–401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ismail, S, Christopher, G, Dodd, E, Wildschut, T, Sedikides, C, Ingram, TA, et al. Psychological and mnemonic benefits of nostalgia for people with dementia. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2018; 65(4): 1327–44.Google ScholarPubMed
Kielsgaard, K, Horghagen, S, Nielsen, D, Kristensen, HK. Approaches to engaging people with dementia in meaningful occupations in institutional settings: A scoping review. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy 2020: 1–19.Google Scholar
Tierney, L, Beattie, E. Enjoyable, engaging and individualised: A concept analysis of meaningful activity for older adults with dementia. International Journal of Older People Nursing 2020: e12306.Google Scholar
Nyman, SR, Szymczynska, P. Meaningful activities for improving the wellbeing of people with dementia: Beyond mere pleasure to meeting fundamental psychological needs. Perspectives in Public Health 2016; 136(2): 99–107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Han, A, Radel, J, McDowd, JM, Sabata, D. Perspectives of people with dementia about meaningful activities: A synthesis. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease & Other Dementias 2016; 31(2): 115–23.Google Scholar
De Bruin, SR, Buist, Y, Hassink, J, Vaandrager, L. ‘I want to make myself useful’: The value of nature-based adult day services in urban areas for people with dementia and their family carers. Ageing & Society 2019: 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haugan, G. Nurse–patient interaction: A vital salutary factor and health promoting resource in nursing homes. In Haugan, G, Eriksson, M, eds. Health Promotion in Health Care: Vital Salutogenic Theories and Research. Berlin, Springer International, 2021; 117–35.Google Scholar
Dezutter, J, Offenbaecher, M, Vallejo, MA, Vanhooren, S, Thauvoye, E, Toussaint, L. Chronic pain care: The importance of a biopsychosocial-existential approach. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 2016; 51(6): 563–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dezutter, J. Het biopsychosociaal zorgmodel: Een integraal zorgmodel? VIEWZ 2016: 10–3.Google Scholar
Kitwood, TM. Dementia Reconsidered: The Person Comes First. Buckingham, Open University Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, TA. Whole Person Care: A New Paradigm for the 21st Century. New York, Springer, 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×