Dementia Worry: Does Public Stigma Predict People’s Concerns About Developing Dementia

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Taylor Leonard (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Lisa Emery

Abstract: Previous research indicates a relationship between increased dementia worry and anticipated stigma concerning attitudes from friends and family. The stereotype content model describes how we stereotype people: their status in society (“competence”) and their interdependence (“warmth”). Work on stereotyping of people with dementia finds that people perceive these groups as “warm but incompetent.” This study hypothesized that people's anticipated stigma about developing dementia would be greatest in domains focusing on competency (e.g., work) and smallest in domains focusing on warmth (e.g., family). The relationship between anticipated stigma and worry should be greater for work-based than family-based stigma. Participants completed surveys to assess their attitudes on anticipated stigma from friends and family, work colleagues, and healthcare professionals should they be diagnosed with dementia, questions about warmth and competence, and a dementia worry scale. The results fully supported the first hypothesis and partially supported the second hypothesis. This supports previous research that anticipated stigma was a significant predictor of worry even when accounting for other factors. This suggests threat appraisals produced for the work domain due to the stereotype that people with dementia are perceived to have low competency were in fact, greater than those produced in the friends and family domain.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Leonard, T. (2022). Dementia Worry: Does Public Stigma Predict People’s Concerns About Developing Dementia. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2022
Keywords
Dementia Worry, Dementia related anxiety, Public stigma, Work related stigma, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

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