Attitudes towards ageing and quality of life among older adults with depression and anxiety

Westgate, Hope (2018) Attitudes towards ageing and quality of life among older adults with depression and anxiety. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Objectives: The thesis aims to synthesise studies on depression and attitudes towards ageing among older adults. Secondly, it aims to bridge the gap in the current literature by examining attitudes towards ageing and quality of life among older adults with late life anxiety.

Design: The thesis is presented as a portfolio and includes: a systematic review on depression and attitudes towards ageing among older adults, a bridging chapter, an empirical paper examining attitudes towards ageing and quality of life among older adults with clinical anxiety compared to a non-clinical sample of older adults, an extended methodology chapter, an additional results chapter, and an overall discussion and critical evaluation chapter.

Results: The systematic review synthesised the research on attitudes towards ageing and depression among older adults; it indicated that there is strong evidence that older adults who have depression, or more depressive symptoms, are more likely to have negative attitudes towards ageing. The empirical paper showed that older adults with clinical anxiety accessing mental health services have more negative attitudes towards ageing and a poorer quality of life compared to those older adults from a non-clinical setting, however, clinical anxiety was not a unique contributor of attitudes towards ageing and quality of life.

Conclusions: Older adults who experience depression or anxiety are more likely to have negative attitudes towards ageing. Moreover, quality of life is poorer among those older adults within mental health settings who experience anxiety compared to those in the community. This thesis has clinical implications for the assessment and treatment of late life anxiety and depression among older adults. Findings have highlighted the need for future research in this area to concentrate on using clinical populations and longitudinal designs.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	Users 9280 not found.
Date Deposited:	16 Oct 2018 11:02
Last Modified:	03 Oct 2021 00:39
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/68544
DOI:

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