Publication Date

1996

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Psychology

LCSH

Cognition disorders; Alzheimer's disease--Patients

Abstract

Wandering is often observed in patients with Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type (DAT). Wandering is a serious problem for patients; it results in their becoming lost, leaving areas of safety, or it interferes with more adaptive behaviors such as eating or sleeping. Recent studies of wandering in nursing home populations have reported greater impairment of higher cognitive function in wanderers than in nonwanderers. In order to investigate the relationship of wandering to cognitive status in DAT, this study sampled only from patients who had a diagnosis of possible or probable DAT. It was hypothesized that neuropsychological test scores for the wandering group would evidence significantly more impairment than those of the nonwandering group. Based on published topographical descriptions of wanderers, it was further hypothesized that among DAT wanderers there may be subtypes which reflect relative differences in the site of impairment in the brain. Thirty-nine DAT patients were recruited from nursing home and day care facilities. Wandering (n=ll) and nonwandering (n=28) groups were identified through caregiver responses on the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI). A battery of neuropsychological tests, sensitive to differences among the severely cognitively impaired an

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [63]-68)

Extent

94 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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