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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Social distance towards a person with Alzheimer's disease | | Author(s) | Perla Werner |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 20, no 2, February 2005 |
| Pages | pp 182-188 |
| Source | http://www.interscience.wiley.com |
| Keywords | Dementia ; Attitudes to the old of general public ; Israel. |
| Annotation | Determinants of behavioural discrimination (i.e. social distance) against people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) were examined in face-to-face interviews with 206 Jewish Israeli adults (mean age 59.7) using an experimental vignette methodology, varying in the severity of the disease. Information regarding participants' preferences for social distance from a person with AD was elicited. The effects of emotional reactions, perceptions of dangerousness of the person depicted in the vignette, personal experiences with the disease and perceptions about the susceptibility of developing AD were examined. Results of the study provide partial support for an extended version of the attribution model, in that prosocial feelings were found to decrease the behavioural discrimination against the person described, whereas feelings of rejection increased the discrimination. A direct unmediated effect of the severity of the disease on social distance was found, as well as a direct effect of familiarity with someone with the disease. The study's findings reinforce the importance of increasing government and advocacy initiatives that would provide the lay public with accurate knowledge about AD and dispel misconceptions. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-050221207 A |
| Classmark | EA: TOB: 7H6 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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