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Biomedical subjects

C J Dye

Publications and source records attributed to C J Dye.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Age group differences in depression on MMPI D scale.

Much of the work that has been done to the present in exploring age differences in the assessment of depression has utilized normally aging populations. This research has indicated that present depression scales may yield many false positives for depression because of the large number of somatic items that these scales contain. An important question is whether this same finding would hold in psychiatric populations, which are the ones most likely to be subject to diagnosis. The present study was designed to supply information in that area. The D-scale responses of the MMPI for 6,964 patients were factor-analyzed. Results indicated significant differences in the expression of depression for three age groups--20-39, 40-59 and 60+ years. A central core of items that accounted for one-half of the variances for all three groups was found. Additional items appeared across the age groups with greater to lesser significance in terms of the variance accounted for producing distinct qualitative differences. Concern over declining physical well-being was not part of the central core of depression for the older group in this psychiatric population.

Adult↗

Factor structure of the Wechsler Memory Scale in an older adult population.

Performed a factor analysis on the results of the WMS for 99 male Ss to determine whether normally aging older adults performed in the same manner as combined neurological and psychiatric patient or nonpatient younger populations. Average MQ for this group (average age 63 years) was 123. Even though the overall score did not indicate deficits with age, the factor structure in this group was almost identical to those structures determined by previous research in the patient populations and not similar to a nonpatient younger population previously reported. This seems to indicate that the manner of functioning in later life becomes deficient in quality rather than in quantitative performance.

Aged↗

A profile of the newly-admitted nursing home resident.

Sixty-eight recently admitted nursing home residents received a battery of psychological tests and were rated on a number of behavioral indices by a tester and by a nursing home staff member. A principle components analysis was performed on the tests and rating scales to determine their interrelationship. A varimax rotation was performed, and simple structure was approximated with for orthogonal factors, which accounted for a total of 71.4 per cent of the variance: Factor I, "Intrapsychic State"; Factor II, "Cognitive Competency"; Factor III, "Self-Image"; and Factor IV, "Environmental Competence." These results revealed that: 1) the morale/anxiety dimension was independent of cognitive competency; 2) newly admitted nursing home residents who perceived themselves as internally controlled (felt that their behavior could affect change) were rated high by others in behavioral competency; 3) self-rating scales apparently measure something independent of the other tests and the ratings by others.

Aged↗

Age and diabetes effects on threshold and hedonic perception of sucrose solutions.

This study explored the relationship of age and diabetes to the threshold and perception of the hedonic qualities of sucrose solutions. A significant increase in threshold beginning in the eighth decade was observed. Diabetic persons did not differ significantly in the threshold for sucrose from nondiabetic subjects. Younger individuals tended to judge suprathreshold solutions as sweeter than older persons. Results from pleasantness ratings were less clear but could be taken to imply that the younger, more recently diagnosed diabetic would find it more difficult to stay on a restricted diet necessary for the control of diabetes than would the older diabetic.

Adult↗

Identification of normal aging and disease-related processes by health care professionals.

A 40-item quiz on aging was given to 46 health care professionals, before they participated in a workshop dealing with the care of the elderly patient. In the quiz, they were asked to identify physiologic and functional conditions either as normal aging processes or disease-related processes. In general the results indicated that disease processes were the easier entities to identify, and that the workshop experience enhanced this effect. Ability to identify functional disorders correctly did not differ significantly from the ability to identify physiologic symptoms correctly. Implications for the general health and the mental health of older adults are discussed.

Aged↗

The interrelationship of memory functions in a nursing home population.

Memory functioning was assessed in a group of thirty nursing home residents to determine the level of functioning and the interrelationship of memory processes and age in this population. Nine different types of memory processes were measured. Results indicated that memory functions in this population were interrelated to a greater extent than in community based elderly populations, yet not to as great an extent as suggested in other more impaired groups. On the other hand, while 21 of the 36 correlations of scores on the tests of memory were statistically significant, the greatest amount of variance accounted for between these test scores was only 55%. This result was interpreted to indicate that the memory functions assessed in this nursing home population were non-unitary in nature. The implications of these findings for memory theory and for the practitioner are discussed.

Adult↗