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Agitation Among Elderly Persons at Adult Day-Care Centers: The Experiences of Relatives and Staff Members

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2005

Jiska Cohen-Mansfield
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, Rockville, Maryland, U.S.A. Georgetown University Center on Aging, Washington, DC, U.S.A.
Perla Werner
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, Rockville, Maryland, U.S.A.
Valerie Watson
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, Rockville, Maryland, U.S.A.
Sonia Pasis
Affiliation:
Research Institute of Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, Rockville, Maryland, U.S.A.

Abstract

Two hundred participants (mean age = 80 years) from five senior day-care centers were included in a study of agitation. Staff members at the centers and participants' relatives rated the frequency with which participants displayed agitated behaviors, via an expanded version of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. The most frequent behaviors noted were general restlessness, repetitious sentences, verbal interruptions, and pacing. A three-factor solution for staff members' ratings included (a) physically nonaggressive behaviors, including general restlessness and pacing; (b) verbally agitated behaviors, including complaining and constant requests for attention; and (c) aggressive verbal behaviors, including cursing and temper outbursts. A three-factor solution for relatives' ratings included (a) physically nonaggressive behaviors, including general restlessness and pacing; (b) verbally agitated behaviors, including constant requests for attention and related interruptions; and (c) aggressive behaviors, including cursing, grabbing, kicking, and pushing. The syndromes of both models showed similarity to the factors found in a nursing home population, although differences were also apparent.

Type
Research and Reviews
Copyright
© 1995 Springer Publishing Company

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