Altintas E, Guerrien A
UFR de psychologie, Université Charles-de-Gaulle Lille-3, BP 60149, 59653 Villeneuve-d'Ascq cedex, France.
Encephale. 2009 Apr;35(2):115-20. doi: 10.1016/j.encep.2008.03.006. Epub 2008 Oct 22.
This article is focused on motivation and depression in later life. For about 20 years, research on the motivation of elders has underlined the importance of the cognitive evaluation of life contexts, notably in terms of self-determination. This cognitive evaluation determines the motivational orientation for daily activities (notably the levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation). The purpose of this research was specifically to study the relationships between the existence of four types of motivation (intrinsic, self-determined extrinsic, nonself-determined extrinsic and amotivation) and the consequences for adaptation and well-being. The study, therefore, focused on the possible links between motivation and geriatric-depression level and explored the nature of this link. Forty persons aged 60 or over (31 women: 80.48+/-9.24; nine men: 80.56+/-9.48) who live in nursing homes (20 elderly) or in their own homes (20 elderly) were enrolled. Elderly persons were assessed with specific and standardized tools: the Elderly Motivation Scale (EMS, in the French version: EMPA) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). For the statistical analyses of the results, correlations and Mann-Whitney test were used. We found that in elderly people, the motivational styles (the four types of motivation) can be reliably measured and are related to geriatric depression. First, significant positive links were noticed between intrinsic motivation and depression scores and between self-determined extrinsic motivation and depression scores. Conversely, significant negative links were noticed between nonself-determined extrinsic motivation and depression scores and between amotivation and depression scores. The most self-determined elders presented low-depression levels, whereas the more nonself-determined elders showed high-depression levels. Moreover, motivational styles significantly differed in the two groups (depressive or not depressive). The most depressive elders showed significantly lower-intrinsic and self-determined motivation levels. Our results support the hypothesis that motivational styles are related to important aspects (adaptation, well-being and depression) of the life of elderly people. Self-determination theory appears of high interest in research on aging and especially on the determinants of well-being in the elders.
本文聚焦于晚年生活中的动机与抑郁。大约20年来，对老年人动机的研究强调了对生活情境进行认知评估的重要性，尤其是在自我决定方面。这种认知评估决定了日常活动的动机取向（特别是内在动机和外在动机的水平）。本研究的目的是专门研究四种动机类型（内在动机、自我决定的外在动机、非自我决定的外在动机和无动机）的存在与适应和幸福感后果之间的关系。因此，该研究聚焦于动机与老年抑郁水平之间可能存在的联系，并探究这种联系的本质。招募了40名60岁及以上的老人（31名女性：80.48±9.24；9名男性：80.56±9.48），他们居住在养老院（20名老人）或自己家中（20名老人）。使用特定的标准化工具对老年人进行评估：老年人动机量表（EMS，法语版本：EMPA）和老年抑郁量表（GDS）。对于结果的统计分析，使用了相关性分析和曼-惠特尼检验。我们发现，在老年人中，动机风格（四种动机类型）能够得到可靠测量，并且与老年抑郁相关。首先，内在动机与抑郁得分之间以及自我决定的外在动机与抑郁得分之间存在显著的正相关。相反，非自我决定的外在动机与抑郁得分之间以及无动机与抑郁得分之间存在显著的负相关。自我决定程度最高的老年人抑郁水平较低，而非自我决定程度较高的老年人抑郁水平较高。此外，两组（抑郁组和非抑郁组）的动机风格存在显著差异。抑郁程度最高的老年人表现出显著较低的内在动机和自我决定动机水平。我们的结果支持了这样一种假设，即动机风格与老年人生活的重要方面（适应、幸福感和抑郁）相关。自我决定理论在衰老研究，尤其是老年人幸福感的决定因素研究中似乎具有很高的研究价值。
