1. Between the Subjective and the Objective: How Informative Is Subjective Evaluation of Memory Among the Old-Old?
- Author
-
Shmotkin, Dov, Eyal, Nitza, Hazan, Haim, Shkolnik, Tamar, Shorek, Aviva, and Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska
- Subjects
GERIATRIC assessment ,CHI-squared test ,COGNITION ,COGNITION disorders ,STATISTICAL correlation ,EPIDEMIOLOGICAL research ,HEALTH status indicators ,INTERVIEWING ,LONGITUDINAL method ,MARITAL status ,MEMORY in old age ,PROBABILITY theory ,PSYCHOLOGICAL tests ,RESEARCH funding ,STATISTICAL sampling ,SCALE analysis (Psychology) ,SELF-evaluation ,SURVEYS ,ACTIVITIES of daily living ,MULTIPLE regression analysis ,SECONDARY analysis ,EDUCATIONAL attainment ,CROSS-sectional method ,PHYSICAL activity ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,OLD age - Abstract
This study addresses the relationship between subjective evaluation of memory and objective cognitive dysfunction in old-old age. In a sample of 164 participants (mean age 91.9, range 87–106) drawn from a nationwide Israeli survey, 42% evaluated their memory positively and 30% negatively. Participants were no more concerned about being forgetful than younger adults. Subjective memory and concern about forgetfulness were not significantly correlated with cognitive dysfunction. Sociodemographic, physical, and well-being characteristics explained three times more variance of cognitive dysfunction than of subjective memory. The study suggests that subjective memory among old-old people who can undergo a survey interview may not reflect actual cognitive dysfunction. Apparently, the role of subjective evaluation resides in other areas of adaptation to very old age. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
- Published
- 2013
- Full Text
- View/download PDF