Personality traits and personality problems in Korsakoff syndrome patients

Personality research is of relevance because it provides insights into the psychological strengths and vulnerabilities of a person. Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder following acute thiamine deficiency, usually as a consequence of alcohol-use disorders. Research on personality traits of KS patients is currently limited. The aim of the current exploratory study was therefore to examine the personality traits and problems of KS patients. We assessed self-reported and informant-reported personality traits and problems in institutionalized KS patients (n = 30). Results indicate that the psychotic personality organization was more frequently present in KS patients compared to a psychiatric reference population, leading to increased vulnerability for the development of severe psychiatric issues. Informants observed more premorbid and current cluster B ("emotional") and C ("anxious") personality behavior in comparison to the general population. Also, rigid- and socially avoidant behavior in KS patients was observed to increase over the years. They also observed personality problems such as emotional-, unpredictable-, dramatic-, anxious and fearful behavior in the present and in the past. KS patients reported themselves as healthy individuals, indicating a lack of self-awareness. We recommend training programs for the medical team focussed on psycho-education and supportive interventions for patients with complex personality problems concomitant to KS.

Predicting progression of cognitive decline to dementia using dyadic patterns of subjective reporting: evidence from the CompAS longitudinal study

Objective

To analyze the validity of self and informant reports, depressive symptomatology, and some sociodemographic variables to predict the risk of cognitive decline at different follow-up times.

Methods

A total of 337 participants over 50 years of age included in the CompAS and classified as Cognitively Unimpaired (CU), Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) groups were assessed at baseline and three follow-ups. A short version of the QAM was administered to assess the severity of subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs), and the GDS-15 was used to evaluate the depressive symptoms. At each follow-up assessment, participants were reclassified according to the stability, regression or progression of their conditions. Logistic regression analysis was used to predict which CU, SCD and MCI participants would remain stable, regress or progress at a 3rd follow-up by using self- and informant-reported complaints, depressive symptomatology, age and education at baseline and 2nd follow-ups as the predictive variables.

Results

Overall, self-reported complaints predicted progression between the asymptomatic and presymptomatic stages. As the objective deterioration increased, i.e., when SCD progressed to MCI or dementia, the SCCs reported by informants proved the best predictors of progression. Depressive symptomatology was also a predictor of progression from CU to SCD and from SCD to MCI.

Conclusion

A late increase in self-reported complaints make valid estimates to predict subjective decline at asymptomatic stages. However, an early increase in complaints reported by informants was more accurate in predicting objective decline from asymptomatic stages. Both, early and late decrease in self-reported complaints successfully predict dementia from prodromic stage. Only late decrease in self-reported complaints predict reversion from prodromic and pre-symptomatic stages.

Influence of affective states on informant impression of neuropsychiatric symptoms in people living with MCI

Objectives: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are often accompanied by neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS; e.g. depression/apathy/irritability) causing challenges for people living with dementia/caregivers and predicting worse disease progression. Accurately assessing NPS is critical to research on AD/MCI. However, there are limitations to both self-reports and clinician evaluations; the field often relies on informants to assess NPS. Informants' perception of NPS are influenced by disease and caregiver factors that may lead to biased assessments. We aimed to assess the relationship between participants self-reported affective states (valence/arousal) and informant-reported NPS.Methods: Data from a double-blinded intervention design (primarily testing neurostimulation's effect on NPS) were used to examine the relationship between participant-reported affective states and informant-reported NPS over 1 month. Forty participants (24 females) with MCI and NPS (mean age = 71.7, SD = 7) were enrolled along with informants (primarily spouses/partners) who regularly interact with participants. NPS assessment occurred weekly and at pre- and post-intervention, and participant-reported affective states were assessed at 14 timepoints.Results: Generalized Estimating Equations showed that participant levels of arousal, but not valence, were significantly related to corresponding informant-reported NPS at weekly (arousal: B= -0.59, SE = 0.27, Wald's χ2 = 4.61, p=.032; valence: B = 0.17, SE = 0.19, Wald's χ2 = 0.80, p=.37) and pre-/post- (arousal: B= -4.00, SE = 1.58, Wald's χ2 = 6.42, p=.011; valence: B= -3.34, SE = 1.80, Wald's χ2 = 3.43, p=.06) assessments.Conclusion: The findings indicate that informant-reported NPS may be more strongly influenced by arousal, and informants may be less attuned to valence in people living with MCI.

Faking Good on Self-Reports Versus Informant-Reports of Emotional Intelligence

Research demonstrates that people can fake on self-rated emotional intelligence scales. As yet, no studies have investigated whether informants (where a knowledgeable informant rates a target's emotional intelligence) can also fake on emotional intelligence inventories. This study compares mean score differences for a simulated job selection versus a standard instructed set for both self-ratings and informant-ratings on the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF). In a 2 × 2 between-person design, participants (N = 81 community volunteers, 151 university students) completed the TEIQue-SF as either self-report or informant-report in one of two instruction conditions (answer honestly, job simulation). Both self-reports (d = 1.47) and informant-reports (d = 1.56) were significantly higher for job simulation than "answer honestly" instructions, indicating substantial faking. We conclude that people can fake emotional intelligence for both themselves (self-report) and on behalf of someone else (informant-report). We discuss the relevance of our findings for self- and informant-report assessment in applied contexts.

Measuring Empathy Across the Adult Lifespan: A Comparison of Three Assessment Types

Empathy is a core component of social cognition that can be indexed via behavioral, informant-report, or self-report methods of assessment. However, concerns have been raised regarding the lack of convergence between these assessment approaches for cognitive empathy. Here, we provided the first comparison of all three measurement approaches for cognitive and affective empathy in a large adult sample (N = 371) aged 18 to 101 years. We found that poor convergence was more of a problem for cognitive empathy than affective empathy. While none of the cognitive empathy measures correlated with each other, for affective empathy, self-report was significantly associated with both behavioral and informant-report assessments. However, for both cognitive and affective empathy, there was evidence for poor discriminant validity within the measures. Out of the three assessment approaches, only the informant-report measures were consistently associated with indices of social functioning. Importantly, age did not moderate any of the tested relationships, indicating that both the strengths and the limitations of these different types of assessment do not appear to vary as a function of age. These findings highlight the variation that exists among empathy measures and are discussed in relation to their practical implications for the assessment of empathy.

Assessment of financial decision making: an informant scale

Older adults with cognitive impairment are a population at great risk for financial exploitation. At-risk older adults often have difficulty reporting on their own financial abilities. Collecting information from trusted others is vital for professionals investigating the financial exploitation older adults. There are few reliable, valid, and standardized informant-report measures of financial capacity, and none that assess decisional abilities for an ongoing, real-world financial transaction. The present study sought to examine the psychometric properties of a new informant-report scale of financial decisional abilities in older adults. One hundred fifty participants were recruited to complete the Family and Friends and Interview regarding a known older adult's financial decisional abilities. A factor analysis identified two subscales. The full scale had adequate sensitivity and specificity to detect an informant's current concerns regarding financial exploitation. The Family and Friends Scale is a useful tool for collecting informant-report regarding an older adult's ability to make financial transactions.

Perceptions of emotion and age among younger, midlife, and older adults

OBJECTIVES

Older adults report greater emotional well-being than younger persons, yet negative stereotypes about aging are pervasive. Little is known about age group perceptions of emotion in adulthood, particularly for familiar persons. Thus, this project determined perceptions of general affect in familiar younger and older adults.

METHOD

In two studies, participants (Study 1, younger adult n = 123, older adult n = 43; Study 2, younger adult n = 34, midlife adult n = 41, older adult n = 16) provided self-report data about their affect in general, as well as reported on the affect of a familiar younger person (aged 18--34) and a familiar older person (aged 65 or older). Emotion scales assessed high- and low-arousal positive and negative affect.

RESULTS

Results suggest a less favorable perception of emotion experiences of older adults compared to younger adults. Specifically, participants of all age groups rated older adults as having lower positive emotions and higher negative emotions than is found in self-report data.

CONCLUSION

Perceptions of emotion in older adulthood reflect stereotypes of negative functioning. Older adult participants were not immune to holding negative views about older adults. Negative perceptions about emotion experiences in later life may be detrimental to the physical and mental health of older adults.

Determining the Accuracy of Self-Report Versus Informant-Report Using the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale

OBJECTIVE

The present research examined the validity of self-report versus informant-report in relation to a performance-based indicator of adult ADHD.

METHOD

Archival data from 118 participants (52 males, 66 females) were used to compare Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Self-Report: Long Format (CAARS-S:L) and Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Observer Report: Long Format (CAARS-O:L) with discrepancy scores calculated between the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) Verbal Comprehension Index - Working Memory Index (VCI - WMI) and Perceptual-Organizational Index - Processing Speed Index (POI - PSI) scaled scores.

RESULTS

Neither the self- nor informant-report formats of the CAARS were better predictors of discrepancies between WAIS-III Index scores. Intercorrelations between the CAARS-S:L and CAARS-O:L revealed generally higher correlations between the same scales of different formats and among scales measuring externally visible symptoms. Furthermore, regression analysis indicated that both the CAARS-S:L and CAARS-O:L clinical scales contributed a significant proportion of variance in WAIS-III VCI - WMI discrepancy scores (14.7% and 16.4%, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Results did not establish greater accuracy of self-report versus informant-report of ADHD symptomatology, rather demonstrate the need for multimodal assessment of ADHD in adults.

Degree of discrepancy between self and other-reported everyday functioning by cognitive status: dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and healthy elders

BACKGROUND

Previous studies show individuals with dementia overestimate their cognitive and functional abilities compared to reports from caregivers. Few studies have examined whether individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) also tend to underestimate their deficits. In this study we examined whether degree of discrepancy between patient and informant-reported everyday functioning was associated with cognitive status.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 111 ethnically diverse community-dwelling older adults (46 Caucasians and 65 Hispanic individuals), which was divided into four diagnostic categories: cognitively normal, MCI-memory impaired, MCI-nonmemory impaired, and demented. Everyday functional abilities were measured using both a self-report and informant-report version of the Daily Function Questionnaire (DFQ). A Difference Score was calculated by subtracting patients' DFQ score from their informants' score.

RESULTS

DFQ Difference Scores were significantly higher in the demented group compared to normals and both of the MCI groups. However, the Difference Scores for the MCI groups were not significantly different than the normals. Further, while patient reported everyday functioning did not differ among the four diagnostic groups, informant reported functional status was significantly different across all diagnostic groups except MCI-nonmemory impaired vs normals. Performance on objective memory testing was associated with informant-rated but not patient-rated functional status. Demographic characteristics of the patients and informants, including ethnicity, had no association with the degree of discrepancy between raters.

CONCLUSIONS

Although there may be some mild functional changes associated particularly with the MCI-memory impaired subtype, individuals with MCI do not appear to under-report their functional status as can often been seen in persons with dementia.