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Impaired judgment: a useful symptom of dementia?
- Authors:
- HEAD L., BERRIOS G.E.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 11(9), September 1996, pp.779-785.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
'Impaired judgment' remains a diagnostic (and predictive) criterion for delirium, dementia and substance-related disorders, and yet its diagnosis and measurement are hampered by the absence of an operational definition. Most of the important research into judgment as a psychological function has been carried out in development and industrial psychology, in the experimental analysis of perception, medical diagnosis and legal decision-making. Models generated in these fields, although important, are only tangentially relevant to 'impaired judgment' as it is met with in clinical practice. This article explores some models of judgment and their application to dementia. It concludes that judgment is not a unitary function but a composite of subroutines. Hence, both low-and high-level analyses are required: the former to explore aetiology, differential diagnosis and treatment, the latter for the assessment of psychosocial competence. A model for the understanding of judgment is also suggested.
Caring for someone with Parkinson's Disease: factors that contribute to distress
- Authors:
- MILLER E., BERRIOS G.E., POLITYNSKA B.E.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 11(3), 1996, pp.263-268.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
An investigation into the impact of caring for someone with Parkinson's disease is described. Informal carers, in this case spouses, were found to have raised levels of distress as indicated by a number of instruments. Levels of depression in the sufferer emerged as offering the best prediction of distress in the carer, which raises the potential importance of treating depression in those with Parkinson's disease. Contrary to expectations, an index of potential social support did not predict carer distress and this may have been because the extent of social contact with others was so low as to not allow it to be a differentiating factor.