Common-sense beliefs about the prevention of Alzheimer's disease
| Autor: | Lindsay N. Anderson, Linda K. Langley, Kevin D. McCaul |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Risk medicine.medical_specialty Health Knowledge Attitudes Practice Adolescent media_common.quotation_subject Health Behavior MEDLINE Disease Illness perceptions Young Adult Alzheimer Disease medicine Dementia Humans Young adult Psychiatry media_common Aged Aged 80 and over Age Factors Common sense Middle Aged medicine.disease Psychiatry and Mental health Younger adults Female Geriatrics and Gerontology Pshychiatric Mental Health Health behavior Psychology Gerontology |
| Zdroj: | Agingmental health. 15(7) |
| ISSN: | 1364-6915 |
| Popis: | Common-sense illness beliefs are important because they influence actions that people take to prevent and treat disease. This research (1) asked younger and older adults about their illness representations of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and (2) manipulated beliefs about AD preventability to determine causal relationships in the data.In Study 1, the beliefs of younger (age 18-38; n = 82) and older (age 58-89; n = 57) adults about the causes of and ways to prevent AD were compared. In Study 2, younger adults were randomly assigned to read information stating either that AD can be prevented or not.Compared to younger adults, older adults saw themselves as less at risk, t(137) = 3.03, p = 0.003, d = 0.52, were more likely to believe that AD is preventable, t(137) = 5.01, p0.001, d = 0.87 and were more likely to report engaging in behaviors to prevent AD, χ(2)(1, 139) = 19.01, p0.001, r = 0.37. Manipulating beliefs in Study 2 caused those told that AD was preventable to see themselves as less at risk, report more prevention behaviors, and hold those with the disease more responsible for their fate.These findings highlight the association of illness representations with reports of behavior and show a disconnect between beliefs and what we currently know about AD. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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