- 期刊
- OpenAccess
Using an Electronic Diary to Bolster Self-Esteem in Persons with Early-Stage Dementia
並列摘要
Persons with early-stage dementia are at risk for decreasing self-esteem because they perceive discrepancies between their actual self-state and their preclinical self-state. We developed a psychological intervention that uses diaries with entries related to positive self-worth for persons with early-stage dementia. We report three exploratory case studies with a 59-year-old male with frontotemporal dementia (Mr. A), and a 53-year-old male (Mr. B) and a 46-year-old female (Ms. C) with Alzheimer's disease. Participants were asked to read their diaries focusing either on achievement, positive interpersonal, or other themes, and rate their self-esteem before and after. Mr. A demonstrated improvement of self-esteem after reading diaries focused on achievement themes. Mr. B demonstrated improvement after reading diaries focused on interpersonal themes. However, Ms. C did not show improvement of self-esteem. These results suggest that reading diaries focused on achievement or positive interpersonal themes could bolster the self-esteem of some persons with early-stage dementia.