Common-sense beliefs about the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

OBJECTIVES

Common-sense illness beliefs are important because they influence actions that people take to prevent and treat disease. This research (1) asked younger and older adults about their illness representations of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and (2) manipulated beliefs about AD preventability to determine causal relationships in the data.

METHOD

In Study 1, the beliefs of younger (age 18-38; n = 82) and older (age 58-89; n = 57) adults about the causes of and ways to prevent AD were compared. In Study 2, younger adults were randomly assigned to read information stating either that AD can be prevented or not.

RESULTS

Compared to younger adults, older adults saw themselves as less at risk, t(137) = 3.03, p = 0.003, d = 0.52, were more likely to believe that AD is preventable, t(137) = 5.01, p < 0.001, d = 0.87 and were more likely to report engaging in behaviors to prevent AD, χ(2)(1, 139) = 19.01, p < 0.001, r = 0.37. Manipulating beliefs in Study 2 caused those told that AD was preventable to see themselves as less at risk, report more prevention behaviors, and hold those with the disease more responsible for their fate.

CONCLUSION

These findings highlight the association of illness representations with reports of behavior and show a disconnect between beliefs and what we currently know about AD.