The Gerontologist, Vol 32, Issue 2 240-245, Copyright © 1992 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Retrospective accounts of dementia symptoms: are they reliable?

A La Rue, J Watson and DA Plotkin
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.

Relatives of patients with dementia completed questionnaires about caregiver stress and patients' functional and psychiatric problems during an initial evaluation, at follow-up 4 to 17 months later, and retrospectively (i.e., based on recall of symptoms and behaviors at the initial assessment). Retrospective accounts correlated well with initial reports, particularly with larger scales including a wider range of alternative responses, but psychiatric symptoms were underreported in the retrospective accounts. Spouses tended to report lower levels of psychiatric symptoms than did younger relatives.

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				K. Kosloski, M. M. Datwyler, and R. J.V. Montgomery Evaluating Retrospective Measures in Gerontological Research Research on Aging, December 1, 1994; 16(4): 389 - 400. [Abstract]