Geriatric anxiety-Anxiety and cognitive performance in older people

Mnohé výzkumy jsou zaměřeny na studium depresivity ve stáří, z jejichž výsledků vyplývá, že negativně ovlivňuje kognici starších osob. Výzkumů, které by se zaměřovaly na geriatrickou úzkost, není takové množství, a navíc přináší protichůdné výsledky. Tato práce si v teoretické části klade za cíl poskytnout náhled na úzkost z filozofického a klinického pojetí, a zejména popsat specifika geriatrické úzkosti a různé oblasti lidského života, které ji mohou ovlivňovat. V praktické části práce jsou prezentovány výsledky 279 účastníků studie NANOK ve věku 60-92 let, přičemž analýza se zaměřuje na vztah úzkostných symptomů ke kognici při zohlednění depresivní symptomatiky. Významné rozdíly jsou u zdravých starších osob nalezeny pouze u testů bezprostředního a oddáleného vybavení z epizodické paměti. U testů pozornosti a exekutivních funkcí nejsou nalezeny významné odlišnosti. Diskutovány jsou různé možnosti ovlivnění kognice úzkostí. V našem souboru zdravých seniorů nesouvisela míra úzkostné symptomatiky s úrovní kognitivních výkonů. Klíčová slova: stáří; kognice; deprese; úzkost; screening; Inventář geriatrické úzkosti; GAIMany researches are focused on the study of depression in older age, their results show a negative impact of depression on the cognition of the elderly. There are not many studies that focus on geriatric anxiety and their results are often contradictory. In the theoretical part, this thesis aims to provide an insight into the anxiety from the philosophical and clinical standpoint, and in particular to describe the specifics of the geriatric anxiety and various areas of human life that may affect it. The practical part presents the results of 279 participants of the NANOK study aged 60-92 years, the analysis focuses on the effects of anxiety symptoms on cognition, taking into account depressive symptoms. Significant differences in healthy elderly persons are found only in the tests of immediate and delayed recall, no significant differences are found in the attention and executive functions tests. Various ways of influencing cognition by anxiety are discussed. In our sample of healthy older people, the rate of anxiety symtoms was not associated with the level of cognitive performance. Keywords: elderly; cognition; depression; anxiety; screening; Geriatric Anxiety Inventory; GAIKatedra psychologieDepartment of PsychologyFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

In the shadow of dissidence: exploring the experiences of descendants of Czechoslovakian dissidents

IntroductionThe Communist Party’s reign in Czechoslovakia (1948–1989) saw the persecution of thousands of individuals. The State Security campaign “Asanace” (meaning “sanitation”) was conducted to expel critics of the regime from the country using psychological and physical terror. Although stories of dissidents are frequently presented in public spaces, little is known about the experiences of their children.MethodsTo address this gap, we conducted interpretative phenomenological analyses of semi-structured in-depth interviews with five adult descendants of Czechoslovakian dissidents.ResultsOur analyses revealed that while participants appreciated and were inspired by their parents’ dissident activities, they tend to distance themselves from it in order not to live in their parents’ shadow. Furthermore, for them, the “Asanace” campaign primarily meant emigration, which in turn affected their sense of self and (national) identity dispersion. Consequently, they experienced feelings of being uprooted and different. Furthermore, they faced challenges acculturating. However, they also recognized their resilience as being rooted in their migration experience and the legacy of their parents’ dissidence.DiscussionBy highlighting intergenerational differences and the impact of family legacy on individuals’ strengths and weaknesses, this study contributes to our understanding of the psychological consequences of living in, escaping from and adjusting to life beyond oppressive regimes

(Un)familiarity with Christianity and its relation to spiritual life

ANNOTATION: The bachelor thesis focuses on the relation between knowledge of Christianity (as a religion most relevant for Czech republic) and the depth of spiritual life. In the theoretical part, the relevance and knowledge of Christianity are examined, also the problem of the spiritual life, spirituality and religiosity from the psychological and theological point of view, and also their growth. The empirical part focuses on the constuction and statistical characteristics of the questionnaire of spiritual life and the test of knowledge of Christianity. Their results, collected data, hypotheses and research problem (relationship between spirituality and knowledge) are analyzed and interpretated. KEYWORDS: Christianity, spirituality, religion, spiritual life, knowledg

Geriatric anxiety-Anxiety and cognitive performance in older people

Many researches are focused on the study of depression in older age, their results show a negative impact of depression on the cognition of the elderly. There are not many studies that focus on geriatric anxiety and their results are often contradictory. In the theoretical part, this thesis aims to provide an insight into the anxiety from the philosophical and clinical standpoint, and in particular to describe the specifics of the geriatric anxiety and various areas of human life that may affect it. The practical part presents the results of 279 participants of the NANOK study aged 60-92 years, the analysis focuses on the effects of anxiety symptoms on cognition, taking into account depressive symptoms. Significant differences in healthy elderly persons are found only in the tests of immediate and delayed recall, no significant differences are found in the attention and executive functions tests. Various ways of influencing cognition by anxiety are discussed. In our sample of healthy older people, the rate of anxiety symtoms was not associated with the level of cognitive performance. Keywords: elderly; cognition; depression; anxiety; screening; Geriatric Anxiety Inventory; GA

(Un)familiarity with Christianity and its relation to spiritual life

ANNOTATION: The bachelor thesis focuses on the relation between knowledge of Christianity (as a religion most relevant for Czech republic) and the depth of spiritual life. In the theoretical part, the relevance and knowledge of Christianity are examined, also the problem of the spiritual life, spirituality and religiosity from the psychological and theological point of view, and also their growth. The empirical part focuses on the constuction and statistical characteristics of the questionnaire of spiritual life and the test of knowledge of Christianity. Their results, collected data, hypotheses and research problem (relationship between spirituality and knowledge) are analyzed and interpretated. KEYWORDS: Christianity, spirituality, religion, spiritual life, knowledg

Processing speed predicts SuperAging years later

Background: SuperAging is one of the current concepts related to elite, resilient or high-functioning cognitive aging. The main aim of our study was to find possible predictors of SuperAgers (SA). Methods: Community-dwelling older persons (N = 96) aged 80–101 years in 2018 were repeatedly tested (year 2012 and 2018). SA were defined based on their performance in 2018 as persons of 80+ years of age who recalled ≥ 9 words in the delayed recall of the Philadelphia Verbal Learning Test, and had a normal performance in non-memory tasks [the Boston Naming Test, the Trail Making Test Part B, and Category Fluency (“Animals”)], which was defined as a score within or above one standard deviation from the age and education appropriate average. Three composite scores (CS; immediate memory, processing speed, and executive functions) were created from the performance in 2012, and analysed as possible predictors of SA status in 2018. Results: We identified 19 SA (15 females) and 77 nonSA (42 females), groups did not significantly differ in age, years of education, and sex. The logistic regression model (p = 0.028) revealed three predictors of SA from the baseline (year 2012), including processing speed (p = 0.006; CS-speed: the Prague Stroop Test—Dots and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test), sex (p = 0.015), and age (p = 0.045). Conclusions: Thus, SA may be predicted based on the level of processing speed, which supports the hypothesis of the processing speed theory of healthy aging

May the testing of integrity help to employ people with mood disorders?

Background: Integrity involves adherence to a set of moral principles and the courage to act on those principles. In clinical psychology and other health professions, consideration of integrity ensures that the upmost care and respect is given to all- regardless of individual background or mental health condition. However, despite the salience of integrity in clinical practice, it is frequently neglected in the literature. Thus, the main aim of the present study was to test a theoretical model and investigate the use of integrity assessments in clinical populations. Subjects and Methods: Participants (N=80) were assessed using the Structured Interview of Personality Organization (STIPO), self-reports and simulated cheating task. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that age, as well as agreeableness; conscientiousness, impression management, moral values and dark triad traits, accounted for 63% of the variance with age and impression management as significant predictors. Integrity was a predictor for cheating at work (Adj. R2 = 0.41), unethical work behavior (Adj. R2 = 0.27) and simulated cheating task (Adj. R2 = 0.07). Conclusions: The results of the study suggest the possibility of using integrity tests in mood disorders with a moderate level of mood and anxiety impairments

Cognitive Superaging

The goals of this study are 1) to explain the difference between the roles of cognitive reserve and cognitive maintenance in older adults, and 2) to describe cognitive superaging beyond memory superaging, and 3) to find about relation with several physical health-related factors

Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) and its short form GAI-SF: Czech normative study

Objectives. The aim of this study is to examine psychometric properties (reliability, intercorrelations, distribution of scores, analyze the items, influence of demographic variables) and present the percentile norms of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) and its short form GAI-SF, which focus on detecting anxiety in older persons.Sample and setting. 485 mentally healthy persons older than 60 years of age from 12 regions of the Czech Republic have passed the GAI, which, using 20 items with Yes and No answers, examines anxiety in older individuals. The influence of age, education and sex was examined.Statistical analyses. Data were analyzed with Spearman's and point-biserial correlation coefficients, tetrachoric correlations, Mann-Whitney U test and McDonald's omega.Results. Statistical analysis revealed the effect of sex on the GAI and GAI-SF results, which is in line with the theory that women are more anxious. The influence of education and age was not significant. The study provides normative GAI and GAI-SF data on a large sample of older persons from the Czech population adjusted by sex.Study limitations. The main limits of the study are non-administering of both versions but only the full version of GAI from which GAI-SF results were extracted, and examination of nonclinical sample