Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychology, King's College London, UK.
Int Psychogeriatr. 2010 Aug;22(5):750-60. doi: 10.1017/S1041610209991542. Epub 2010 Jan 25.
Subjective Memory Complaints (SMCs) are common among middle-aged and older adults and are often a source of distress and worry. However, rates of help-seeking are low. Investigating perceptions of SMCs may help us better to understand psychological reactions to SMCs and help-seeking behavior. The present study had two aims: (i) to investigate whether the dimensions drawn from the Common Sense Model of Illness Perception (Leventhal et al., 1984) provide a valid model of perceptions held by patients with SMCs; and (ii) to develop a questionnaire to measure these perceptions.
Qualitative interviews to explore perceptions of SMCs were conducted with 32 participants recruited from a memory clinic and community groups. Information from these interviews was utilized to adapt the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) for use with patients with SMCs. Ninety-eight such patients then completed the adapted questionnaire along with measures of cognition, depression and subjective memory function.
The dimensions of illness perception measured by the IPQ-R were present in participant accounts of SMCs with the exception of Timeline Cyclical. The adapted measure (IPQ-M) showed good validity and reliability.
The development of the IPQ-M provides opportunities for further investigation of illness perceptions and their relationship to psychological distress and help-seeking behavior in SMCs. Furthermore, investigation of these relationships may provide a basis from which to develop interventions to improve well-being and help-seeking in older adults with SMCs.
主观记忆抱怨（SMC）在中年和老年人中很常见，往往是困扰和担忧的来源。然而，寻求帮助的比率很低。调查对 SMC 的看法可以帮助我们更好地了解对 SMC 的心理反应和寻求帮助的行为。本研究有两个目的：（i）调查从疾病认知的共同感知模型（Leventhal 等人，1984 年）中得出的维度是否为 SMC 患者持有的感知提供了有效模型；（ii）开发一种衡量这些感知的问卷。
从记忆诊所和社区团体中招募了 32 名参与者，对他们进行了探索 SMC 感知的定性访谈。这些访谈的信息用于改编用于 SMC 患者的修订版疾病感知问卷（IPQ-R）。然后，98 名此类患者完成了改编后的问卷以及认知、抑郁和主观记忆功能的测量。
除了时间线周期性外，IPQ-R 衡量的疾病认知维度都存在于 SMC 参与者的描述中。经过改编的量表（IPQ-M）具有良好的有效性和可靠性。
IPQ-M 的开发为进一步研究 SMC 中的疾病认知及其与心理困扰和寻求帮助行为的关系提供了机会。此外，对这些关系的研究可以为改善 SMC 中老年人的幸福感和寻求帮助提供基础。
