Premium
A Clinical Study on Premorbid Personality and Personality Change in Patients with Age Associated Dementia
Author(s) -
Kasahara Hiroo,
Karasawa Akihide,
Wakutsu Noriyuki,
Yamada Hideo,
Tanno Munehiko,
Kobayashi Mitsuru,
Ushijima Sadanobu
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1994.tb03079.x
Subject(s) - dementia , personality , psychology , personality psychology , personality changes , personality disorders , psychiatry , incidence (geometry) , clinical psychology , medicine , disease , social psychology , physics , optics
A survey was made on 502 elderly people living at home in Tokyo, and reliable data were obtained from 486 (96.8%) of them. A total of 198 persons who were judged to have dementia according to our clinical diagnostic criteria were subjected to the present study as the demented group (Group D). Other people who had no dementia or mental disorder were studied as controls (Group C); they were subdivided into two groups, i. e., a group of 83 persons who had a decline in ADL (Group C 1 ) and a group of 181 persons who had no decline in ADL (Group C n ). Their personalities were classified in terms of the personality trend and personality type according to SPI. 1. According to the classification by SPI, 28.2% of people who were syntonic in their younger days were in Group D. The corresponding rate was 11.6% for the nervous type, 45.3% for the immodithymic type, 1.7% for the viscous type, 5.5% for the autistic type, and 7.7% for the hysterical type. Thus, people who were syntonic, immodithymic or nervous in younger days were less likely to develop dementia, while those who were autistic or hysterical were more likely to develop dementia. The viscous type was associated with a low incidence of dementia in the present study. 2. Personality change was found more frequently in Group D (55.6%) than in Groups C I and C II (39.4%). 3. A personality change was either to nonadaptive personality (selfish, obstinate, suspicious or hot‐tempered) or to adaptive personality (mellow or extroverted). In particular, the former four types of nonadaptive personality change were significantly more frequent in Group D. A change toward selfishness, obstinateness, suspi‐ciousness or hot‐tempcredness was closely related to the development of dementia rather than to ADL. There was no consistent relationship between the severity of dementia and nonadaptive personality change. Thus, among the personality in younger days, personality change and age associated dementia, we found a certain relationship between the personality in younger days and dementia. However, a relationship between the personality in younger days and later personality change was found in only a small group of subjects. However, the personality change toward selfishness, obstinateness, suspiciousness or hot‐temperedness was closely related to the development of dementia.