Search results

This study aims to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a new group intervention, using an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) approach, developed for dementia caregivers. Preliminary data regarding the effectiveness of the intervention was also collected.

A quasi-experimental design is used involving pre- and post-intervention data from four different intervention sites, along with three-month follow-up data. Data on attendance, attrition and qualitative feedback was also collected as an indication of acceptability. A total of 23 people currently caring for a family member with dementia attended the ACT group intervention for five sessions. Detailed evaluation forms were collected at the end of each group, along with four self-report questionnaires: Zarit Burden Interview, Positive Aspects of Caregiving Scale, Dementia Management Strategies Scale and Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire.

Findings indicate that the group intervention was feasible and acceptable to caregivers, with subjective change reported in understanding of behavioural changes in the care-recipient, ability to handle negative emotions and valued living. These changes were not reflected in the outcome measures, with only one change reaching statistical significance (reduction in “intolerance of negative thoughts and emotions towards the relative”). Suggestions are made regarding possible alternative outcome measures for future studies to capture participants’ experience more fully, along with potential adaptations and future directions for the intervention.

This study provides preliminary evidence of the acceptability and feasibility of a group therapeutic intervention based on ACT for informal caregivers of dementia.

The purpose of this paper was to systematically review the association between behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and the development of carer burden. Although this association has been well established in the literature, it is not clear whether there are individual symptoms or clusters of symptoms that are particularly burdensome for carers.

A systematic review of the available literature was carried out to determine whether any specific symptom or cluster of symptoms was most closely associated with carer burden. In addition, the categorisation of behavioural symptoms, conceptualisations of burden and methods of measurement used were examined and quality of the studies appraised.

A total of 21 studies measured the association between at least one individual symptom or symptom cluster and carer burden, with all studies finding at least one symptom to be significantly associated with burden. The majority of studies were of fair to good quality. However, there was considerable heterogeneity in focus, analysis, recruitment and measurement of behaviour and burden.

Symptoms, which were found to be significantly associated with carer burden, were aggression/agitation, frontal systems behaviour, disinhibition, disrupted eating and sleeping behaviour, unusual motor behaviour, anxiety and psychotic symptoms. However, because of the heterogeneity of studies, there was insufficient evidence to establish whether any symptoms are more important than others in the development of carer burden. Future focus on clarifying the dimensions of carer burden and the mechanisms by which BPSD impact negatively on carers could inform the development of effective interventions.

Although quality of life and attitudes to ageing have been explored in the context of mental and physical health problems in older adults, the interplay between these variables has received little attention. The purpose of this study is to explore how attitudes to ageing relate to and predict quality of life in an international sample of older people those of age 57 to 79 (youngest-old) and those over 80 years old (oldest-old).

A large international sample (n = 4,616) of participants recruited from 20 different countries completed a set of measures assessing several demographic variables, attitudes to ageing, older adult specific quality of life, general quality of life and depression.

Correlational and regression analysis showed that more positive attitudes to ageing were associated with and predicted better quality of life in older adults beyond demographic and depression variables. Those in the oldest-old group had significantly more negative attitudes to ageing and a poorer quality of life. However, positive attitudes to ageing remained a significant predictor of better quality of life in both the youngest-old and oldest-old age groups.

Attitudes to ageing play an important part in quality of life in older adults; however, the impact of these attitudes might be different according to age group. These results suggest that attitudes to ageing could be a possible clinical target in interventions aiming at improving quality of life in older adults.

Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) have been well established as factors involved in the development of carer burden. However, it is not clear which symptoms are most burdensome for carers and which caregiver factors may be involved. This study aims to explore symptoms associated with executive functioning deficits and their impact on three dimensions of carer burden and positive gain. It also aims to discover whether behaviour management strategies used by carers, and their level of experiential avoidance, had an independent impact on these factors.

A total of 110 dementia caregivers completed five self-report measures as part of a cross-sectional design: the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX), Zarit Burden Interview, Positive Aspects of Caregiving Questionnaire, Dementia Management Strategies Scale and Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire (EACQ).

Executive functioning deficits (DEX) were found to account for most variance in burden, with DEX subscales impacting differentially on the three dimensions of burden and positive gain. The use of negative management strategies was associated with higher levels of burden, as was Active Avoidant Behaviour (a subscale of the EACQ), whereas positive management strategies were associated with positive gain.

In line with previous findings, symptoms associated with executive functioning deficits were the most significant factor in the development of carer burden. The findings relating to behaviour management strategies and experiential avoidance suggest that these could be potential mediating mechanisms in this relationship. Further research is required to explore this in detail, and to consider implications for targeted carer interventions.

Emotion regulation (ER) has been identified as an important factor influencing psychological and health problems of adult populations. The purpose of this paper is to address a gap in the literature by examining available evidence relating to the use of ER strategies (avoidance, problem solving, reappraisal, rumination and suppression) on the well-being of older people (OP).

A systematic search for peer-reviewed articles published from 1985 to 2015 was conducted in PsycINFO, CINAHL, Medline, Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Collections and ASSIA and resulted in 1746 titles. In total, 20 studies met full inclusion criteria (the cross-sectional association between well-being and ER was reported, participants were 60 years or older, without cognitive impairment and the article was written in English, Portuguese or Spanish).

Rumination was found to be the ER strategy most strongly associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression in OP populations, while mixed result were found for avoidance, problem solving, suppression and reappraisal.

Given the scarcity of research examining the association between ER and positive psychological concepts only a conclusion about ER and negative mood measures could be made. Questions for future research on ER and well-being in OP are proposed.

This paper addresses a significant gap in the literature regarding the use of ER strategies in older adults.

This chapter introduces the argument that pervades the collection that families are in motion both conceptually and in practice. It articulates the motion of family and families, which are made through space and time, and explains the ways in which the book develops current thinking on family. It also situates the concept and practices of family within wider debates and contexts. The chapter then details the contribution of each of the chapters to this argument, which are organised around three thematic parts: moving through separation and connection; uneven motion and resistance; and traces and potentialities. The chapter draws out six conclusions from the chapters in the collection.

‘Living together apart’ (LTA) is the practice of remaining in close domestic proximity following the ending of an intimate relationship. Using the conceptual framework of families in motion, in which families are re-envisioned as in flow, responding to all kinds of disruptions, chosen and unchosen, by ‘holding on’, adapting, adjusting and redirecting, this chapter explores the family practices involved in LTA. Using collaborative autoethnography – a research process in which the authors jointly explored data from their own lives – the authors were able to develop an understanding of LTA that was attentive to everyday life and the interconnections of time and space within families. The authors found that when families are living within less normative constellations, there are fewer scripts to rely upon and the potential for non-legitimacy and anxiety increases. The data also showed how deeply families are embedded in practices that are always in relation to an experienced past and imagined future. The importance of having a family story to tell that ‘works’ socially and emotionally, as well as having a home that can spatially encompass such new flows in family lives, is crucial.

In this chapter we examine the extant research in international business (IB) by conducting a bibliometric study of the articles published in three leading IB journals – International Business Review, Journal of International Business Studies and Management International Review, over their entire track record of publication available in the ISI – Institute for Scientific Information. In longitudinal analyses of citation data we ascertain the most relevant works of the IB field. We also identify intellectual interconnectedness in co-citation networks of the research published in each journal. A second-tier analysis delves into publication patterns of those articles that are not at the top citation listings. Our results permit us better understand and depict the extant IB research and, to some extent, its evolution thus far.