Change in the psychological self in people living with dementia: a scoping review

TY - UNPB

T1 - Change in the psychological self in people living with dementia: a scoping review

AU - Mentzou, Katerina

AU - Sixsmith, Judith

AU - Ellis, Maggie

AU - Ross, Josephine

PY - 2022/10/26

Y1 - 2022/10/26

N2 - Alternations in one’s sense of self are often considered a significant psychological symptom of dementia. However, the self is not a unified construct; it consists of a set of closely connected, yet substantive, manifestations which might not be equally impacted by dementia. Recognising the multidimensional nature of the self, the current scoping review aimed to explore the nature and scope of the evidence demonstrating change in the psychological self in people living with dementia. A hundred and five (105) quantitative and qualitative studies were reviewed, and findings were organised into three main types of self-manifestations: high-order manifestations, functional aspects of the self, and foundational manifestations. Overall, the results show that although there are alterations in some of these different manifestations of the self, these do not imply a global loss of selfhood. Despite notable cognitive changes during dementia, it seems that preserved aspects of self are enough to compensate for potential weaking of some self-processes such as autobiographical recall. Better understanding alterations in selfhood is key to addressing psychological symptoms of people living with dementia, such as feelings of disconnection and reduced agency, as well as to inform new pathways for dementia care interventions.

AB - Alternations in one’s sense of self are often considered a significant psychological symptom of dementia. However, the self is not a unified construct; it consists of a set of closely connected, yet substantive, manifestations which might not be equally impacted by dementia. Recognising the multidimensional nature of the self, the current scoping review aimed to explore the nature and scope of the evidence demonstrating change in the psychological self in people living with dementia. A hundred and five (105) quantitative and qualitative studies were reviewed, and findings were organised into three main types of self-manifestations: high-order manifestations, functional aspects of the self, and foundational manifestations. Overall, the results show that although there are alterations in some of these different manifestations of the self, these do not imply a global loss of selfhood. Despite notable cognitive changes during dementia, it seems that preserved aspects of self are enough to compensate for potential weaking of some self-processes such as autobiographical recall. Better understanding alterations in selfhood is key to addressing psychological symptoms of people living with dementia, such as feelings of disconnection and reduced agency, as well as to inform new pathways for dementia care interventions.

KW - dementia

KW - Self

KW - Selfhood

KW - Review

UR - https://psyarxiv.com/sbe3q/

U2 - 10.31234/osf.io/sbe3q

DO - 10.31234/osf.io/sbe3q

M3 - Preprint

BT - Change in the psychological self in people living with dementia: a scoping review

PB - PsyArXiv

ER -