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Meaning in life matters for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease in residential care: associations with life satisfaction and depressive symptoms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2019

Laura Dewitte Open the ORCID record for Laura Dewitte [Opens in a new window] ,
Mathieu Vandenbulcke  and
Jessie Dezutter
Laura Dewitte*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven—University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Research Foundation Flanders, Brussels, Belgium
Mathieu Vandenbulcke
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven—University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium University Psychiatric Centre, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Jessie Dezutter
Affiliation:
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven—University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Laura Dewitte, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102 − box 3717, Belgium. Phone: +32 16/37.42.54. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Objectives:

To examine whether previously established associations between experiences of meaning in life on the one hand and life satisfaction and depressive symptoms on the other hand are transferable to a population of older residential care residents with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Design:

Cross-sectional study using questionnaires administered in a structured interview format.

Setting:

Nine residential care settings in Flanders, Belgium.

Participants:

Convenience sample of 138 older adults (+65) living in residential care with a diagnosis of AD.

Measurements:

Meaning in life was measured using the Presence of Meaning (PoM) subscale of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Short Form, life satisfaction was measured using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), depressive symptoms were measured using a five-item short form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and general cognitive status was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).

Results:

Controlling for demographic variables (age, sex, and marital status) and cognitive status, meaning in life scores were positively predictive of life satisfaction scores and negatively predictive of depressive symptoms. Post-hoc analyses suggested a possible interaction between meaning in life and cognitive status in predicting both outcomes of psychological functioning (GDS and SWLS).

Conclusion:

The presence of meaning in life is related to important well-being outcomes for older adults with AD living in residential care. More awareness for the importance of existential themes and interventions fostering meaning might be warranted for this population.

Keywords

Alzheimer’sdementiameaning in lifedepressive symptomslife satisfactionwell-beingresidential care
Type
Original Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 31 , Issue 5: Issue Theme: Well-Being in Dementia , May 2019 , pp. 607 - 615
Copyright
© International Psychogeriatric Association 2019 

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