Does working with frail and cognitively impaired older people, in addition to and in combination with psychological distress, lead to concerns about one’s own aging? We investigated whether aging anxiety (AA) and dementia worry (DW) systematically differed between N = 34 geriatric nurses and a comparison sample of N = 34 childcare workers. The samples did not differ with regards to sociodemographic characteristics, personality, life satisfaction, or dementia knowledge. A multivariate GLM analysis revealed a substantial effect of both work context (high vs. low exposure to aging/dementia; η 2 = .12) and overall psychological distress (η 2 = .15) across three indicators of AA/DW. Interindividual differences in AA and DW seem to be partially explained by professional experience in eldercare as well as by mental health resources.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Kessler et al. (2014) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: