Do Personality Traits, Ageist Beliefs, and Knowledge of Dementia Influence Canadian Undergraduates Stigmatizing Attitudes Towards People With Dementia?

Abstract

Dementia is a neuropsychological condition causing progressive deficits in cognitive functioning. Alzheimer’s dementia is the most common form of dementia. A particular challenge faced by persons with dementia (PwD) is the level of stigma they encounter on a daily basis. Considerable research has shown that stigmatization of PwD leads to poor mental and physical health outcomes. Stigma is regarded by many as the biggest obstacle PwD face when accessing care. Programs aimed at the reduction of stigma have largely focused on education and creating opportunities for contact with a PwD, showing positive outcomes. However, we know little about who is most likely to have stigmatizing beliefs towards PwD and which behaviours exhibited by PwD are more likely to be stigmatized. We plan to administer a series of questionnaires to undergraduate students at MacEwan University. Information on participant demographics, ageist beliefs, personality factors, experience with and knowledge of dementia will be collected. Participants will then be given a hypothetical vignette of a PwD. The vignette has six behavioural descriptions. Stigma towards each behaviour will be assessed by asking participants to rank on a scale of 1-10, how distressing the behaviour is. We hypothesize that lower levels of ageism, higher levels of familiarity, and greater knowledge of dementia will predict lower levels of stigma in this Canadian undergraduate population. As well, political affiliation, and personality are expected to influence stigma but the direction is unclear.

Faculty Mentors: Dr. Lori Harper & Dr. Russ Powell