Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T04:37:54.980Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Perceptions of memory problems are more important in predicting distress in older adults with subjective memory complaints than coping strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2011

Catherine S. Hurt ,
Alistair Burns  and
Christine Barrowclough
Catherine S. Hurt*
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, London, UK
Alistair Burns
Affiliation:
University of Manchester, Psychiatry Research Group, Manchester, UK
Christine Barrowclough
Affiliation:
University of Manchester, School of Psychological Sciences, Manchester, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Catherine S. Hurt, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology (PO77), De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. Phone: +44 2078480923, Fax: +44 2078485006. Email: [email protected].
Get access

Abstract

Background: There is a high prevalence of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) amongst older adults, many of whom experience significant distress. It remains unclear why some older adults with SMCs experience more distress than others. The Common Sense Model of Illness Perceptions has been used to explain patients’ differential response to illness based on the beliefs they hold about their illness and subsequent selection of coping strategies. The present study aimed to examine the role of perceptions and coping styles in predicting anxiety and depression in older adults with SMCs.

Methods: 98 participants with SMCs completed the Illness Perception Questionnaire for Memory Problems (IPQ-M), Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the contribution of illness perceptions and coping to the explanation of variance in depression and anxiety.

Results: Perceptions of SMCs were found to predict both depression and anxiety while coping strategies did not. Perceptions of serious consequences of SMCs and causal attributions predicted greater depression, while attribution of memory problems to lack of blood to the brain was the only predictor of increased anxiety.

Conclusions: Illness perceptions predicted depression and anxiety in older adults with SMCs. Contrary to the Common-Sense Model coping style was not found to be an important determinant of psychological distress. The findings provide a basis for developing interventions to reduce psychological distress in older adults with subjective memory complaints. Targeting causal attributions and perceived consequences of SMCs may help to improve well-being.

Keywords

subjective memory complaintsolder adultsbeliefsdepressionanxietycoping
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 23 , Issue 8 , October 2011 , pp. 1334 - 1343
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2011

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

Baron, R. and Kenny, D. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Brown, G. and Steer, R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 893–897.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Broadbent, E., Ellis, C. J., Thomas, J., Gamble, G. and Petrie, K. J. (2009). Further development of an illness perception intervention for myocardial infarction patients: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 67, 17–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clare, L., Goater, T. and Woods, B. (2006). Illness representations in early-stage dementia: a preliminary investigation. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21, 761–767.Google Scholar
Commissaris, C. J., Ponds, R. W. and Jolles, J. (1998). Subjective forgetfulness in a normal Dutch population: possibilities for health education and other interventions. Patient Education and Counselling, 34, 25–32.Google Scholar
Elfgren, C., Gustafson, L., Vestberg, S. and Passant, U. (2010). Subjective memory complaints, neuropsychological performance and psychiatric variables in memory clinic attendees: a 3-year follow-up study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 51, 110–114.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Felton, B. J. and Revenson, T. A. (1984). Coping with chronic illness: a study of illness controllability and the influence of coping strategies on psychological adjustment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 343–353.Google Scholar
Folkman, S., Lazarus, R. S., Pimley, S. and Novacek, J. (1987). Age differences in stress and coping processes. Psychology and Aging, 2, 171–184.Google Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. and McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini-mental state”: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fortune, D. G., Richards, H. L., Griffiths, C. E. and Main, C. J. (2002). Psychological stress, distress and disability in patients with psoriasis: consensus and variation in the contribution of illness perceptions, coping and alexithymia. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41, 157–174.Google Scholar
Groarke, A., Curtis, R., Coughlan, R. and Gsel, A. (2004). The role of perceived and actual disease status in adjustment to rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology (Oxford), 43, 1142–1149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hagger, M. and Orbell, S. (2003). A meta-analytic review of the common-sense model of illness representations. Psychology and Health, 18, 141–184.Google Scholar
Hamilton-West, K. E., Milne, A. J., Chenery, A. and Tilbrook, C. (2010). Help-seeking in relation to signs of dementia: a pilot study to evaluate the utility of the common-sense model of illness representations. Psychology Health and Medicine, 15, 540–549.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harman, G. and Clare, L. (2006). Illness representations and lived experience in early-stage dementia. Qualitative Health Research, 16, 484–502.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hurt, C. S., Burns, A., Brown, R. G. and Barrowclough, C. (2010). Perceptions of subjective memory complaint in older adults: the Illness Perception Questionnaire – Memory (IPQ-M). International Psychogeriatrics, 22, 750–760.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leventhal, H., Nerenz, D. and Steele, D. (1984). Illness representations and coping with health threats. In Baum, A. and Singer, J. (Eds.)A Handbook of Psychology and Health (pp. 219–252) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Lobban, F., Barrowclough, C. and Jones, S. (2004). The impact of beliefs about mental health problems and coping on outcome in schizophrenia. Psychological Medicine, 34, 1165–1176.Google Scholar
McIlvane, J. M., Popa, M. A., Robinson, B., Houseweart, K. and Haley, W. E. (2008). Perceptions of illness, coping, and well-being in persons with mild cognitive impairment and their care partners. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 22, 284–292Google Scholar
Metternich, B., Kosch, D., Kriston, L., Harter, M. and Hull, M. (2010). The effects of nonpharmacological interventions on subjective memory complaints: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 79, 6–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mol, M., Carpay, M., Ramakers, I., Rozendaal, N., Verhey, F. and Jolles, J. (2007). The effect of perceived forgetfulness on quality of life in older adults: a qualitative review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22, 393–400.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moss-Morris, R., Weinman, J. and Petrie, K. (2002). The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Psychology and Health, 17, 1–16.Google Scholar
Nelson, H. and Willison, J. (1991). National Adult Reading Test (NART): Test Manual. Windsor: NFER Nelson.Google Scholar
Parker, J., Endler, N. and Bagby, R. (1993). If it changes it might be unstable: examining the factor structure of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 5, 361–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petrie, K. J., Jago, L. A. and Devcich, D. A. (2007). The role of illness perceptions in patients with medical conditions. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 20, 163–167.Google Scholar
Scharloo, M., Kaptein, A. A., Weinman, J., Bergman, W., Vermeer, B. J. and Rooijmans, H. G. (2000). Patients’ illness perceptions and coping as predictors of functional status in psoriasis: a 1-year follow-up. British Journal of Dermatology, 142, 899–907.Google Scholar
Verhaeghen, P., Geraerts, N. and Marcoen, A. (2000). Memory complaints, coping, and well-being in old age: a systemic approach. Gerontologist, 40, 540–548.Google Scholar
Vitaliano, P. P., Maiuro, R. D., Russo, J. and Becker, J. (1987). Raw versus relative scores in the assessment of coping strategies. Journal of Behavioural Medicine, 10, 1–18.Google Scholar
Yesavage, J. et al. (1983). Development and validation of a Geriatric Depression Screening Scale: a preliminary report. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 17, 37–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar