Myrna Reis

Personality Traits as Determinants of Burden and Health Complaints in Caregiving.

This study tested predictions specifying the influence of caregiver personality traits on negative outcomes of caregiving, health complaints and burden. Two-hundred and thirteen caregivers, who were caring for family members with dementia, were interviewed and their relatives were assessed on cognitive status and aggression. At follow-up conducted twenty-four months later, forty-five caregivers were still continuing to provide home care for their dependents. Caregivers who scored higher on a measure of neuroticism experienced higher levels of burden and health complaints both at initial and follow-up assessment. Caregiver extraversion-introversion did not influence the experience of caregiving. At both initial and final assessment, the ability to enjoy some aspects of caregiving, recreational activities, and satisfaction with social support from family and friends mitigated negative outcomes of caregiving, while appraising the dependent as more troublesome increased negative outcomes. Caring for more cognitively impaired and more aggressive dependents and being female increased negative outcomes initially. Personality traits and most other study variables demonstrated significant continuity across time for caregivers continuing home care.

Validation of the Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE)

This study explored the validity of the Caregiver Abuse Screen (CASE) as a brief measure of abuse/neglect of seniors. A group of abusive caregivers from the community was compared with two contrasting groups of non-abusive caregivers. The CASE distinguished between the abusive and each non-abusive group, while the non-abusive groups did not differ from each other. Higher CASE scores coincided with higher scores on abuse/aggression measures from independent sources; with caregiver personality traits; with appraisals of poorer caregiver/care-receiver relationships and more care-receiver problem behaviours, poorer caregiver health, more caregiver depression and less social support. Findings were interpreted as supporting the CASEs validity as an initial abuse screen for use with caregivers.

Retirement, Personality, and Life Satisfaction: A Review and Two Models

This article reviews the literature of life satisfaction in retirement, focusing on the retirees personality. Personality effects are examined in a context including other determinants of life satisfaction: involuntary retirement, stress, health, finances, and activities, and issues of control and adaptivity are explored. Heuristic models specifying direct and indirect effects of personality traits on life satisfaction in retirement are proposed. The models are based on the findings reviewed and on a variety of theories, including five-factor personality theory, stress theory, and attachment theory. Directions for retirement counseling, planning, and research are suggested.

MOTIVATION, PERSONALITY AND WELL-BEING IN OLDER VOLUNTEERS*

This study examined the effects of personality traits and motivation to volunteer on well-being as 107 older participants went through an intervention to increase volunteering. Three groups of volunteers, current, new, and former volunteers, participated. Participants were assessed four times on standardized measures of personality, health, motivation, and well-being: before and after a wait period, after volunteering, and at one year follow-up. There were no differences between pre, post and follow-up well-being. Regression analysis indicated that health, personality traits and motivation predicted well-being at pre-intervention. In contrast, after the intervention, regression analysis indicated that the interaction of higher neuroticism and greater motivation scores predicted lower well-being compared to other volunteers. One year follow-up results indicated that personality traits and health predicted well-being and that higher initial motivation predicted drop-outs while those continuing to volunteer increased their motivation scores.

Dimensions and Predictors of Activity Engagement

Abstract This short-term longitudinal study examined (1) the test-retest reliability of seven parameters of activity engagement (frequency, importance, difficulty, ability, future, change, number of activities), (2) the correlations among these parameters, and (3) the role of demographic, health and personality traits as predictors of activity parameters. A total of 107 retired seniors completed questionnaires on three different occasions over a one-year period. Participants showed good consistency in activity dimension ratings across time. Results also showed that activity parameters were significantly inter-correlated. Finally, predictors varied according to activity parameters, but variables of education, extraversion, openness and, to a lesser extent, health, predicted several activity parameters.

RELATION OF PATERNAL AVAILABILITY TO PROBLEM SOLVING AND SEX-ROLE ORIENTATION IN YOUNG BOYS

This study investigated the relation of the fathers availability to his 4-yr.-old sons problem-solving ability and sex-role orientation. The subjects were middle-class boys and their parents; 16 boys had fathers who were more available and 14 boys had fathers whose availability was relatively low. Three problem-solving measures and a sex-role orientation test were administered to the sons. The boys with the more available fathers performed better than the boys with the less available fathers on one of the problem-solving measures. Correlations between paternal availability and all three problem-solving tests were positive and significant for the group whose fathers were more available. There was no significant difference between the groups in sex-role orientation. Parental availability was associated with other measures which also related to childrens scores. Data indicated that higher availability of the father is positively associated with the sons problem-solving ability, but that other factors, especially maternal ones, influence the relation.

Male Teachers and Development of Nursery-School Children

The influence of male teachers on the development of 109 children in nursery classes was examined. Children received better behavior ratings and boys tended to have higher mathematics achievement scores when taught by male-female teaching teams than by female teachers.