Search results for ‘Subject term:"alzheimers disease"’ Sort:
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The living dead? The construction of people with Alzheimer's disease as zombies
- Author:
- BEHUNIAK Susan M.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 31(1), January 2011, pp.70-92.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Current literature shows how both Alzheimer's disease, and the people that suffer from it, have been stigmatised. In this article, the author suggests that Alzheimer's stigma is of a specific sort – dehumanisation based on disgust and fear. While blame for negative perceptions of people with Alzheimer's has been placed on the biomedical understanding of dementia, the author argues that strong negative emotional responses to Alzheimer's are also reinforced by the social construction of people with Alzheimer's as zombies. To highlight the case, this article identifies seven specific ways that the zombie metaphor is referenced in both the scholarly and popular literature on Alzheimer's. This common referencing of zombies is significant as it pervades the social discourse about Alzheimer's with a politics of revulsion and fear that separates and marginalises those with the disease. The article concludes that by recognising the power of this zombie label, its negative impact can be addressed through an emphasis of connectedness, commonality, and inter-dependency.
Dementia: out of the shadows
- Author:
- WILLIAMSON Toby
- Publisher:
- Alzheimer's Society
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 70p.
- Place of publication:
- London
People with dementia have spoken out about the impact and stigma a diagnosis has on their lives in a new Alzheimer's Society report called Dementia: Out of the Shadows. People with dementia reported losing friends after a diagnosis of dementia, neighbours crossing the street as they approached and professionals dismissing symptoms as just old age New Alzheimer's Society research also reveals that half of all UK adults believe dementia is a condition plagued by stigma. 700,000 people with dementia across the UK live with this stigma, which affects their friends, families and the professionals they rely on for help.
Family stigma and caregiver burden in Alzheimer’s disease
- Authors:
- WERNER Perla, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 52(1), February 2012, pp.89-97.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Research in the area of mental illness suggests that caregivers’ perception of stigma is associated with increased burden. The stigma experienced by the family members of an individual with a stigmatised illness includes 3 dimensions: caregiver self-stigma, lay public stigma, and structural stigma. The aim of this study was to examine whether family stigma is a predictor of caregiver burden in the case of Alzheimer’s disease. The participants were a convenience sample of 185 adult children who were primary caregivers of an elderly parent with Alzheimer’s disease. Structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with the participants between December 2008 and August 2009. The findings provide evidence that caregiver stigma increases caregiver burden in the case of Alzheimer’s disease. The 2 caregiver stigma variables of shame and decreased involvement with caregiving were found to be the major contributing factors. None of the variables included in the dimensions of lay public stigma or structural stigma added significantly to caregiver burden.
Discriminatory behavior towards a person with Alzheimer's disease: examining the effects of being in a nursing home
- Author:
- WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 12(6), November 2008, pp.786-794.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study examined determinants of discriminatory behaviour towards a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD) using an attribution model. More specifically, the effects of residing in a nursing home compared with the community were examined. A phone survey was conducted during the summer of 2007 with a representative sample of 501 lay persons (mean age = 49) in Israel. Information regarding participants' discriminatory behaviour towards a male person with AD was elicited using a vignette methodology. The effects of emotional reactions, perceptions of dangerousness and responsibility of the person depicted in the vignette as well as perceptions about the susceptibility of developing Alzheimer's disease were examined together with the effects of place of residence. Four forms of discriminatory behaviour were found: coercion to restraint physically, coercion to restraint medically, segregation and avoidance. Results of the study provided partial support for an extended version of the attribution model, in that negative emotions were found to increase discrimination, whereas pity decreased avoidance. Perceptions of dangerousness were one of the main variables predicting discrimination. Contrary to the hypothesized relationships, being in a nursing home did not increase discrimination. The present study adds new information about factors associated to the stigma of AD.
Stigma by association and Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- WERNER P., HEINIK J.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 12(1), January 2008, pp.92-99.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Although it is widely assumed that persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are victims of stigmatization, little is known about courtesy stigma or stigma by association and AD. Phone interviews were conduced with 61 caregivers of persons with AD in Israel in order to assess four dimensions of stigma by association - interpersonal interaction, concealment, structural discrimination and access to social roles. The participants perceived a minimal amount of stigma directed towards themselves but a considerable percentage reported perceptions of stigma regarding the person with AD. Additionally, participants reported high levels of structural discrimination towards the person with AD and towards themselves. It was found that stigma by association related to AD is especially high in dimensions affecting the delivery of services and the lives of the person with AD.
Stereotypes, stereotype threat and ageing: implications for the understanding and treatment of people with Alzheimer's disease
- Authors:
- SCHOLL Jane M., SABAT Steven R.
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 28(1), January 2008, pp.103-130.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Over the past 15 years, a growing body of research has shown that people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are affected not only by brain neuropathology but also by their reactions to its effects, by the environments in which they live, and by how they are treated by others. Nevertheless, three relatively neglected social influences on people with AD remain to be examined: negative stereotyping, negative self-stereotyping and stereotype threat. Numerous studies reviewed in this paper indicate that: (1) negative self-stereotypes at conscious and unconscious levels can have adverse effects on the performance of healthy elderly people on tasks demanding explicit memory (recall in particular), and (2) the mere threat of being stereotyped negatively can have adverse effects on the performance of healthy elderly people on tasks including those involving memory. This paper discusses the relevance of these phenomena for the understanding and treatment of people with AD who are exposed to negative stereotypes about old age and about AD before and after they are diagnosed. There is evidence to suggest that these influences may have significant effects on people with AD. The paper concludes with recommendations for best practice in the treatment of people with AD in the light of the most apparent effects of negative self-stereotyping and stereotype threat. These include advocacy for an approach that involves aspects of counselling.
Lay perceptions regarding the competence of persons with Alzheimer's disease
- Author:
- WERNER Perla
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21(7), July 2006, pp.674-680.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim of the present study was to assess lay persons' perceptions about the competence of a person with AD and its relationship to social distance. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a total of 206 Jewish Israeli adults (mean age = 59.7) using an experimental vignette methodology, varying in the severity of the disease. Participants were requested to rate the competence of the person described in the vignette in the areas of driving, health-decision making, financial decisions, and the performance of instrumental activities of daily living. Results of the study showed that lay persons are able to make a distinction between different types of competence, and that their perceptions about competence affect greatly their behavioral discrimination toward a person with AD. Findings of this study stress the importance of clarifying the concept of competence among the lay public, in order to reduce the stigmatization of persons with Alzheimer's disease.
Understanding public-stigma and self-stigma in the context of dementia: systematic review of the global literature
- Authors:
- NGUYEN Trang, LI Xiaoming
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 19(2), 2020, pp.182-194.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Stigma negatively impact quality of life of people with dementia and their family members. Yet the literature in stigma and dementia remains scant. This article systematically reviews manifestations of and associated factors with public-stigma and self-stigma in the context of dementia. After searching and screening on the three major databases of PubMed, Embase, and psycINFO, 26 articles, including 17 quantitative papers and nine qualitative papers, were selected for synthesis. Results show consistently limited knowledge, as well as stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination of public toward people with dementia and their family caregivers. Demographic characteristics of general public were found to be associated with the level of their stigma against dementia. People with dementia and their family caregivers also perceived negative stereotype, prejudice, and discrimination from general public and healthcare professionals. They reported negative feelings of themselves and tended to delay help-seeking. Psychological factors rather than sociodemographic factors shaped self-stigma of people with dementia and their families. This systematic review highlights the need of future studies in both public-stigma and self-stigma in dementia research in different contexts and cultures, as well as the development of evidence-based and culturally competent interventions and mass media campaigns to reconstruct public perception of dementia. (Edited publisher abstract)
Dementia as a cultural metaphor
- Author:
- ZEILIG Hannah
- Journal article citation:
- Gerontologist, 54(2), 2014, pp.258-267.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article contributes to debates about the category “dementia,” which until recently has been dominated by biomedical models. The perspectives of critical gerontology are pertinent for extending knowledge about dementia and guiding this analysis. These perspectives encourage examination of cultural and historical influences and thus question how societies have constructed and defined dementia. This article queries the stories told about dementia and the language that we use to tell these stories. Central to the article is an analysis of some of the stories about dementia that are contained within and framed by contemporary culture. A number of films, TV documentaries, news reports, theatre, memoirs, novels, and poems that portray some of the experiences associated with dementia are interrogated. These representations are examined as they either perpetrate or challenge stereotypes about living with dementia. Analysis of these representations demonstrates the sociocultural construction of dementia and the extent to which dementia is a diachronic phenomenon. Above all, the article considers (a) the social and political dimensions of dementia, (b) the ways in which the metaphors persistently used to explain dementia shape our consciousness about this condition, and (c) the extent to which dementia is an inherent part of contemporary life. (Publisher abstract)
Stigmatizing clients with mental health conditions: an assessment of social work student attitudes
- Authors:
- KUBIAK Sheryl Pimlott, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Mental Health, 9(1-6), 2011, pp.253-271.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Social stigma and stigmatising attitudes have been found to be impediments to effective care and primary practice interventions for individuals with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Because social workers provide a significant amount of such services, this study explores what attitudes and beliefs they may have in relation to treating individuals with these conditions. Specifically, the study aimed to assess the level of stigmatising beliefs among student social workers as a function of their willingness to treat clients with 1 of 4 conditions: alcohol dependence; nicotine dependence; depression, and Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease was included as a comparison to the disorders associated with behavioural derivations. A survey was completed in-class by 117 MSW students, with 76 of these students later completing an online survey. The findings showed that the students held higher levels of stigma toward nicotine dependent clients and less toward those with depression. Personal histories of depression and student age, but not smoking or alcohol use, were predictive of higher stigma levels toward nicotine dependent clients. Implications for social work are discussed.