Emotional Well-Being in a Person with Dementia

Abstract

Self-reported mood and observations of affect are often used as indicators of emotional well-being. The purpose of this case study was to (a) describe the self-reported mood and affective pattern of an older man with severe cognitive impairments, (b) assess consistency in his responses to mood state, (c) compare mood pattern to premorbid personality, and (d) determine the concordance between self-reported mood and observed affect. Observations of mood and affect were taken three times per day for 35 days. There was concordance between self-reported mood and observed affect. The participant was consistent in his responses to mood 75% of the time. The pattern of self-reported mood reflected the participant’s long-standing personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism. Results, although not generalizable, demonstrate the need to consider the perspective of the person with dementia when addressing quality-of-life issues in research and practice.