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Mentalization in dementia care: an autoethnographic account of a project worker’s experiences
- Authors:
- LUXMOORE Bethany, McEVOY Phil
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 21(3), 2017, pp.147-156.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Mentalization is a psychodynamic concept that can help us to understand our emotional responses to others. The purpose of this paper to illustrate how the concept of mentalization may be applied in dementia care. Design/methodology/approach: An autoethnographic account of the author’s experiences (first author), working as a project manager in which the author used the concept of mentalization to pay close attention to how the author’s emotional responses to people with dementia influenced thier communicative interactions. Findings: This paper outlines how the author processed the author’s own internal experiences in both mentalizing and non-mentalizing modes, as the author wrestled with feelings of conscious incompetence. In the non-mentalizing mode, the author was pre-occupied with the author’s own anxieties. The author struggled to relate to or make sense of the experiences of the individuals with advanced dementia that the author engaged with. Moving towards a mentalizing stance helped the author to attune to the embodied experiences of the people with dementia and recognise the reciprocal nature of our communicative interactions. Originality/value: This paper illustrates the role that mentalization may play in developing natural and authentic strategies to support communicative engagement in dementia care. These strategies may be of potential value to family carers. Family carers who can maintain a mentalizing stance may be more able to respond in empathic, person- centred ways to people who are living with dementia. On the other hand, non-mentalizing responses may be a root cause of mis-understanding and emotional disengagement. (Publisher abstract)
Old age expectations are related to how long people want to live
- Authors:
- BOWEN Catherine E., SKIRBEKK Vegard
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 37(9), 2017, pp.1898-1923.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
How long do people want to live? Why do some people want to live a very long time, and others would rather die relatively young? The current study examines the extent to which the preference to die young (<80 years, less than average life expectancy) or to live somewhat longer or much longer than average life expectancy (90-99 years or 100+ years, respectively) is related to a person's positive and negative expectations of what their life will be like in old age. The authors use multinomial regression analysis based on survey data from a large sample of younger and middle-aged adults in the United States of America (USA) (N = 1,631, age 18-64 years). The authors statistically control for socio-demographic characteristics as well as self-reported happiness and health. Main finding: that having fewer positive expectations for their own old age distinguishes people who prefer to die relatively young, while having fewer negative expectations distinguishes people who want to live beyond current levels of life expectancy. The results provide evidence that pessimistic expectations of life in old age can undermine the desire to live up to and beyond current average life expectancy. The study also provides descriptive data about how young and middle-aged adults in the USA anticipate their own ageing. (Edited publisher abstract)
Attitudes and knowledge of social work students towards sexuality in later life
- Authors:
- GEWIRTZ-MEYDAN Ateret, EVEN-ZOHAR Ahuva, FISCH Bat-Tzion
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Education (The International Journal), 36(8), 2017, pp.918-932.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Background: Sexuality in later life may be compromised by restrictive attitudes, and lack of knowledge among professionals. This study examined social work students’ attitudes and knowledge towards sexuality and sexual expression in later life and investigated associated factors. Method: Undergraduate social work students from Israel (n = 375) completed the Attitudes and Knowledge towards Older Adult’s Sexuality Scale and questionnaires regarding contacts and exposure to older adults, prior sexual education and sociodemographic. Results: Attitudes and knowledge were correlated. First year students were the most conservative and demonstrated the least knowledge. No differences were found between men and women regarding attitude. However, men and married students had greater knowledge regarding older adults’ sexuality than women or non-married students did. Increased religious observance predicted more conservative attitudes. Age predicted more permissive attitudes and greater knowledge about sexuality in later life. A mediating process examined, suggested knowledge is a mediator variable between age and attitudes towards older adults’ sexuality. Conclusion: As the population in Israel and in Western countries ages, it is important to examine the knowledge and attitudes of social work students regarding older adults’ sexuality and to develop educational and interventional programmes aimed at increasing awareness, knowledge, and positive attitudes in this area. (Publisher abstract)
The productive ageing concept and social work students' perceptions toward an older population
- Authors:
- KIM Junghyun, LEE Jaewon, SIMS Omar T.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Service Research, 43(2), 2017, pp.149-155.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Social work curriculum that offers an optimistic perspective on ageing has the potential to help social work students go on to practice in a nondiscriminatory way with older adults. This study introduces social work students to the productive ageing concept, an optimistic view to social potential in later life, in lecture format and assesses postlecture changes in their perceptions of older adults. Seventy-two students (16 BSW; 56 MSW) were recruited from a large university in the southeast United States to participate in a lecture on productive ageing. A one-group pretest–posttest design was used, and a paired samples t test (n = 72) was used to analyse changes in social work students’ perceptions toward older adults. Negative attitudes toward older adults decreased and positive attitudes toward older adults increased among students following their participation in the lecture on productive ageing. This finding suggests the productive ageing concept may favourably influence student perceptions of older adults. Future research should aim to investigate ways in which these changes in perception at the college level can translate and self-sustain in social work practice for social work students postgraduation. (Edited publisher abstract)
Investigating perceptions of disgust in older adult residential home residents
- Authors:
- LAFFAN A.J., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 21(2), 2017, pp.206-215.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: As people become increasingly physically dependent as they make the transition into older age, they may lose the ability to control bodily functions. Problems with eating, voiding and washing can be linked with feelings of disgust and, given the necessity for some of being assisted with intimate care activities, it has been suggested that self-focused disgust and concerns over the disgust of others may become important preoccupations in older people, with the potential to further impair their quality of life. Method: In a mixed-methods study, feelings of disgust in 54 physically dependent older adults living in residential homes were investigated. Participants completed measures of disgust sensitivity, mood, and two new scales assessing feelings of self-disgust and perceived other-disgust related to intimate care activities. Six of the residents who reported high levels of self-disgust also participated in semi-structured interviews. Results: Results indicated that disgust was uncommon. Where present, self-disgust was related to perceptions of others’ feelings of disgust and general disgust sensitivity. These results were benchmarked against 21 community-dwelling older adults, who reported believing they would feel significantly more disgusting if they were to start receiving assistance. A thematic analysis identified the importance of underlying protective factors, the use of strategies and carer characteristics in ameliorating feelings of disgust. Conclusion: The results are discussed with reference to the disgust literature, with recommendations being made for ways in which self-disgust can be minimised in those making the transition to residential homes. (Publisher abstract)
Staying engaged: health patterns of older Americans who participate in the arts
- Authors:
- RAJAN Kumar B., RAJAN Rekha S.
- Publisher:
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Pagination:
- 46
- Place of publication:
- Washington, DC
This report describes arts participation patterns of older adults tracked by the 2014 Health and Retirement Study in the United States. It examines the health characteristics - cognitive ability, physical function, and hypertension rates- among adults who created art, who attended arts events, or who did both or did neither. The analysis found that older adults who both created and attended art events in 2014 reported better health outcomes that year than did adults who neither created nor attended art. Older adults involved in both creating art and attending events, also experienced slower rates of decline in cognitive and physical functioning over the last decade, and less growth in hypertension, compared with other older adults. Greater frequency of arts attendance and arts creation also were positively linked to health outcomes. The findings suggest a positive relationship between arts participation and health benefits, especially when also linked with art-making, in therapeutic or non-therapeutic settings. (Edited publisher abstract)
Aging perceptions and self-efficacy mediate the association between personality traits and depressive symptoms in older adults
- Authors:
- O'SHEA D.M., DOTSON V.M., FIEO R.A.
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 32(12), 2017, pp.1217-1225.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Personality traits have been shown to be predictors of depressive symptoms in late life. The authors examined whether other more modifiable sources of individual differences such as self-efficacy and self-perceptions of ageing would mediate the association between personality traits and depressive symptoms in older adults. Method: Data were obtained from 3,507 older adult participants who took part in the 2012 Health and Retirement Study. The “Big Five” personality traits, self-efficacy, ageing perceptions, and depressive symptoms were assessed. Mediation analyses tested the hypothesis that self-efficacy and ageing perceptions would mediate the relationship between personality traits and depressive symptoms. Results: All five personality traits were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. Neuroticism was positively associated with depressive symptoms and had the greatest effect compared with the other personality traits. There was a significant indirect effect of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness on depressive symptoms (including both mediators). The mediating effect of ageing perceptions on the relationship between neuroticism and depressive symptoms was the strongest compared with self-efficacy, accounting for approximately 80% of the total indirect effect. Conclusion: The authors results provide support for interventions aimed at improving self-perceptions related to efficacy and ageing in order to reduce depressive symptoms in older adults. (Edited publisher abstract)
Volunteering with older people in a care home
- Authors:
- TINKER Anthea, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 21(4), 2017, pp.229-235.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence that volunteering before medical school with older people in a care home has on the perceptions of older people. Design/methodology/approach: Eight medical students answered an anonymous questionnaire relating to their experiences of volunteering in a care home before medical school. This was combined with an analysis of the relevant literature. Findings: All the students had initially volunteered to enhance their CV for medical school. After volunteering, they had a greater realisation of the variety of older people. They also gained a number of transferable skills related to communicating with older people, especially those with cognitive impairment. The greatest learning experience was around the issues to do with dementia. Research limitations/implications: The research is based on eight students although they were from different areas. Practical implications: It would be beneficial if care homes could be more proactive in encouraging prospective medical students to volunteer. Medical schools could also provide clearer advice or take a more active stance such as encouraging prospective students to volunteer with older people. Further research should be with a larger sample to gain insight into varying perspectives. It would also be useful to conduct research into older adults’ attitudes towards the contribution of potential medical students to their own lives and to the home. Social implications: Volunteering before medical school should be encouraged as it will enhance the chances of getting a place as well as being an eye opening experience and equip them with lifelong skills. (Publisher abstract)
Does a sense of benevolence influence volunteering and caregiving among older people?
- Authors:
- SHEN Huei-Wern, DELSTON J.B., WANG Yi
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work Research, 41(3), 2017, pp.155-166.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Volunteering and caregiving are both helping behaviours, but they take place in different social contexts. Although personal resources and networks are important factors in understanding whether older people volunteer and provide family care, studies of the psychological factors influencing these behaviours are rare. Using theoretical guidance of the resource and strategic mobilization model, this study aims to construct a psychological factor—sense of benevolence (SBEN)—and elucidate the effects of SBEN on volunteering and caregiving among older adults when personal resources and networks are controlled. Authors, using data from the 2000 Health and Retirement Study, included 939 community-dwelling older adults age 55 years and older in the study. Using principal component analysis, authors retained 10 items to construct the SBEN scale. Two separate logistic regression models were used to assess the relationships between SBEN and volunteering and SBEN and caregiving. Findings show that higher SBEN increased the likelihood for older people to give care but was not related to volunteering. SBEN may be used as a construct to help understand the psychological factors behind older individuals’ helping behaviours to family. Further research identifying mechanisms of engaging older volunteers - that is, psychological and institutional motivating factors - is needed. (Edited publisher abstract)
Ageing, corporeality and social divisions in later life
- Authors:
- GILLEARD Chris, HIGGS Paul
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 37(8), 2017, pp.1681-1702.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper concerns the social divisions of later life. Although research in this field has focused on class, gender and, more recently, sexuality as sources of division in later life, the division between the fit and the frail has tended to be ignored or viewed as an outcome of these other divisions. This paper challenges this assumption, arguing that corporeality constitutes a major social division in later life. This in many ways prefigures a return to the 19th-century categorisation of those ‘impotent through age’, whose position was among the most abject in society. Their ‘impotence’ was framed by an inability to engage in paid labour. Improved living standards during and after working life saw age's impotence fade in significance and in the immediate post-war era, social concern turned towards the relative poverty of pensioners. Subsequent demographic ageing and the expanding cultures of the third age have undermined the homogeneity of retirement. Frailty has become a major source of social division, separating those who are merely older from those who are too old. This division excludes the ‘unsuccessfully’ aged from utilising the widening range of material and social goods that characterise the third age. It is this social divide rather than those of past occupation or income that is becoming a more salient line of fracture in later life. (Publisher abstract)