Cynthia Lien1, Tony Rosen2, Elizabeth M Bloemen1,2, Robert C Abrams3, Maria Pavlou4, Mark S Lachs1. 1. Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Care, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. 2. Division of Emergency Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. 3. Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York. 4. Mercy Clinic Geriatrics, St. Louis, Missouri.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To identify patterns of personal experience or behavior in self-neglect by exploring narratives of cognitively intact older adults. DESIGN: Descriptive study involving semistructured interviews and unstructured narratives. SETTING: A parent study of self-neglect characteristics. PARTICIPANTS: Cognitively intact, self-neglecting older adults referred from 11 community-based senior services agencies (N = 69). MEASUREMENTS: Interviews included a comprehensive psychiatric assessment using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Axis-I and II Disorders and an unstructured interview that allowed subjects to describe important elements of their life stories. Content analysis was used to identify personal experiences and behavior patterns in each subject's narrative. RESULTS: Four types of traumatic personal experiences (psychologically traumatic loss, separation or abandonment (29%); violent victimization, physical trauma, or sexual abuse (19%); exposure to war or political violence (9%); prolonged mourning (7%)) and five behavior patterns (significant financial instability (23%), severe lifelong mental illness (16%), mistrust of people or paranoia (13%), distrust and avoidance of the medical establishment (13%), substance abuse or dependence (13%)) were identified in the life stories. CONCLUSION: Patterns of traumatic personal experiences and maladaptive behaviors that self-neglecters frequently report were identified. Experiences, perceptions, and behaviors developed over a lifetime may contribute to elder self-neglect. Further exploration and better understanding of these patterns may identify potential risk factors and areas for future targeted screening, intervention, and prevention.
OBJECTIVES: To identify patterns of personal experience or behavior in self-neglect by exploring narratives of cognitively intact older adults. DESIGN: Descriptive study involving semistructured interviews and unstructured narratives. SETTING: A parent study of self-neglect characteristics. PARTICIPANTS: Cognitively intact, self-neglecting older adults referred from 11 community-based senior services agencies (N = 69). MEASUREMENTS: Interviews included a comprehensive psychiatric assessment using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Axis-I and II Disorders and an unstructured interview that allowed subjects to describe important elements of their life stories. Content analysis was used to identify personal experiences and behavior patterns in each subject's narrative. RESULTS: Four types of traumatic personal experiences (psychologically traumatic loss, separation or abandonment (29%); violent victimization, physical trauma, or sexual abuse (19%); exposure to war or political violence (9%); prolonged mourning (7%)) and five behavior patterns (significant financial instability (23%), severe lifelong mental illness (16%), mistrust of people or paranoia (13%), distrust and avoidance of the medical establishment (13%), substance abuse or dependence (13%)) were identified in the life stories. CONCLUSION: Patterns of traumatic personal experiences and maladaptive behaviors that self-neglecters frequently report were identified. Experiences, perceptions, and behaviors developed over a lifetime may contribute to elder self-neglect. Further exploration and better understanding of these patterns may identify potential risk factors and areas for future targeted screening, intervention, and prevention.
Authors: Carmel Bitondo Dyer; James S Goodwin; Sabrina Pickens-Pace; Jason Burnett; P Adam Kelly Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2007-07-31 Impact factor: 9.308
Authors: Robert C Abrams; M Carrington Reid; Cynthia Lien; Maria Pavlou; Anthony Rosen; Nancy Needell; Joseph Eimicke; Jeanne Teresi Journal: Int J Geriatr Psychiatry Date: 2017-06-06 Impact factor: 3.485