Susan H. McFadden

Development and Psychometric Validation of the Dementia Attitudes Scale

This study employed qualitative construct mapping and factor analysis to construct a scale to measure attitudes toward dementia. Five family caregivers, five professionals, and five college students participated in structured interviews. Qualitative analysis of the interviews led to a 46-item scale, which was reduced to 20 items following principal axis factoring with two different samples: college students (N = 302) and certified nursing assistant students (N = 145). Confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted with another sample of college students (N = 157). The final scale, titled the Dementia Attitudes Scale (DAS), essentially had a two-factor structure; the factors were labeled “dementia knowledge” and “social comfort.” Total-scale Cronbachs alphas ranged 0.83–0.85. Evidence for convergent validity was promising, as the DAS correlated significantly with scales that measured ageism and attitudes toward disabilities (range of correlations = 0.44–0.55; mean correlation = 0.50). These findings demonstrate the reliability and validity of the DAS, supporting its use as a research tool.

Denominational and age comparisons of God concepts

This study examines whether denominational and age differences emerge in endorsement of Christian God descriptions developed using the three highest loading adjectives in each of Spilka, Benson, and Nussbaum’s (1964) six God concept factors. Previous research suggests that conceptualizations of God may vary based on religious affiliation, and life-span development researchers assert that new, adaptive cognitive processes may emerge in later adulthood. Participants were divided into three age categories and asked to rate their agreement to six God descriptions. Significant denominational differences in God factor endorsement were revealed for all factors. No age differences across denomination were determined. Denominational differences appear to corroborate sociological descriptions of denomination-based variations in religious doctrine and practices. The overall lack of age differences may suggest that God concepts are cognitive organizations that remain stable over time, possibly due to reinforcement from church attendance. All data were collected from church attendees.

Healthy Aging Persons and Their Brains: Promoting Resilience Through Creative Engagement

Creative engagement, as an expression of and a support for resilience, may have a neuroprotective effect among older adults, contributing to retention of cognitive capacity. Recent research on creative activities shows that they strengthen social networks and give persons a sense of control; both outcomes have been associated with brain health. The authors cite evidence suggesting that positive social interactions can nurture resilience and creative engagement among older persons, including those living with dementia. The motivational, attentional, affective, and social components of creative activities combine to offer older persons meaningful opportunities to express and strengthen their resilience, regardless of their cognitive status, despite the biopsychosocial challenges of aging. The article addresses implications for future research, clinical practice, and public policy, and suggests how gaps in current research on resilience and creativity might be addressed.

Religion, Personality, and Aging: A Life Span Perspective

A life span model of development provides the framework for examining the relation between religion and personality in aging persons. This article emphasizes the interplay of constancy and change in adult religious life. Important contextual factors that influence religion and personality are noted. A discussion of generativity and ego integrity shows how the maturing personality can embrace religiously motivated acts of justice and mercy as well as a deepening of spiritual life. Also discussed are the ways religion encourages generativity and ego integrative processes. The article concludes with suggestions for future studies of religion, personality, and aging utilizing a life span model of development.

Religion, Emotions, and Health

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the research evidence of salutary effects of religiosity, particularly among older persons. It suggests that attachment theory offers a promising way of integrating data on the etiologic mechanisms that may explain the observed effects of religion on health. The implication has been that religion can evoke positive, salutogenic emotions, given a secure religious attachment and positive cognitive–emotional schemas of the self and others born out of secure familial attachment. Emerging research on the relation between hostile right-wing authoritarianism and fundamentalist religions ought to catch the attention of psychologists seeking to understand the effects of early emotional climate on personality development and health and well-being in adulthood. The chapter suggests that the scientific study of religion an enduring and multifaceted aspect of human experience can contribute in many ways to ongoing efforts to understand the relation between emotion and health.

The Web and the Quilt: Alternatives to the Heroic Journey Toward Spiritual Development

This paper poses a feminist challenge to stage models of spiritual development and suggests alternative metaphors to the common image of a heroic journey. Womens spirituality is typically more intuitive and relational than rational and individualistic and to express this, we employ metaphors of “the web” and “the quilt.” Support for the relevance of these metaphors comes from the spiritual autobiography of Jane Goodall, an anthology of African American womens writings about spirituality, and two qualitative research investigations of older womens spirituality. We conclude with an autobiographical account of our own spiritual development and engage in a dialogue-on-the-page in which we respond to each others narratives.

A Faculty Perspective on Teaching Assistant Training

The quality and type of instruction teaching assistants (TAs) receive provide basic preparation for a faculty career. We sampled 249 chairs of psychology departments offering doctoral programs. Questionnaire results show that faculty respondents (a) identify TA responsibilities in a variety of pedagoical areas, (b) describe a diverse set of TA training components, and (c) rate TA supervisors as experienced in both working with TAs and as undergraduate teachers. Faculty respondents describe a pedagogical base from which new faculty with TA experience may continue to develop as teachers.

Resilience and Multiple Stigmatized Identities: Lessons from Transgender Persons’ Reflections on Aging

This chapter describes the qualitative analysis of responses given by 122 transgender persons aged 61 and older who answered nine questions in an online survey about hopes and fears about aging, strategies for successful aging, and wisdom to convey to younger transgender individuals. More than 70 % stated they believe they are aging successfully. We identified six components of the resilience repertoires that enabled them to say they are aging successfully despite the stigma associated with their gender-variant identities and sexual minority status. Queer theory and the idea of intersectionality contributed to our interpretation of the resilience repertoires.

A Terror Management Perspective on Young Adults' Ageism and Attitudes toward Dementia.

According to Terror Management Theory as applied to ageism, older adults may be associated with mortality, thereby generating death-thought accessibility, stereotypes, and mixed emotions among younger adults. However, it is unclear how older adults’ health conditions, such as dementia, affect ageist attitudes and mortality salience. In the current study, college student participants (N = 240) read descriptions of hypothetical target persons. Target age (29 or 71) and health status (normal, unknown, arthritis, or dementia) were manipulated. Participants then rated targets on stereotype content dimensions of competence and warmth; rated their emotions toward the targets; and completed a measure of death-thought accessibility. Results (p < .05 for all) indicated that, relative to younger targets, older targets triggered lower competence ratings, higher warmth ratings, greater death-thought accessibility, and more empathy and pity. Targets with dementia generated lower competence ratings, higher warmth ratings, greater death-thought accessibility, and more fear, empathy, and pity than targets with normal and/or unknown health. Older targets with dementia (i.e., Alzheimers disease) received higher pity ratings than all other targets, and participants reported more death-related thoughts for older vs. younger targets with dementia. The current study supports Terror Management Theory as an explanation for ageism, and illustrates how ageism among young adults is affected by health conditions like dementia.

Continuity in the Midst of Change: Behaviors of Residents Relocated from a Nursing Home Environment to Small Households

A time-sampling procedure was used to observe behaviors of 22 long-term-care residents with dementia (Mini-Mental State Exam median, 11.94; range 0-23) in public areas before and after relocation from a traditional nursing home environment to 2 small household units. Two trained observers noted the occurrence of 19 social behaviors (14 verbal, 5 nonverbal) in which the resident intentionally interacted with another person. Another 19 nonsocial behaviors (16 active, 3 passive) were also coded. Analysis by t tests of 6 groupings of behaviors showed no significant differences before and after relocation, with the exception of nonverbal social interactions. Overall, residents showed consistency in both social and nonsocial behaviors. Results are interpreted in light of personal, social, and environmental continuity despite the many changes associated with the relocation.