Centre for Dementia Studies, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Trafford Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RX, UK.
Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth Institute of Health and Care Research, Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Oct 21;24(1):2896. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20419-7.
Dementia-related stigma is a prominent barrier for people living with dementia, leading to poor well-being and social isolation. Adolescents are an under-researched group in society that may already have experience of dementia and are more susceptible to attitudinal change which makes them ideal targets for anti-stigma initiatives outlined by public health policy. For the development of evidence-based anti-stigma initiatives in adolescents, it is important to understand which socio-demographic groups are most likely to develop stigmatising attitudes and why. This study aims to identify factors of dementia-related stigma in adolescents.
A total of 1,044 adolescents (aged 11-18 years) from across six regions of England were included in the analysis of this cross-sectional, survey-based study. Descriptive statistics and multiple regressions were employed to explore the association between demographic variables, modifiable factors of dementia-related stigma and the outcome of dementia-related stigma. A path analysis via a structural equation model was employed to test for direct and mediatory effects.
Multiple regression models revealed that younger adolescents, those with higher levels of contact with dementia, higher levels of empathy, higher levels of dementia knowledge, and higher affinity to older adults, are associated with more positive dementia attitudes in adolescents (p < 0.05). Within the accepted structural equation model, empathy, level of contact and dementia knowledge were key mediators of dementia-related stigma (p < 0.05).
This study highlights that modifiable factors such as level of contact, ageism, and empathy have a potentially important role in how dementia-related stigma may start to form in the adolescent years. Developing contact-based strategies that stimulate empathetic responses may be useful targets for stigma reduction initiatives for adolescents.
与痴呆症相关的耻辱感是痴呆症患者面临的一个突出障碍，导致他们的幸福感下降和社会孤立。青少年是社会中研究较少的群体，他们可能已经有了痴呆症的体验，并且更容易改变态度，这使他们成为公共卫生政策概述的反耻辱倡议的理想目标。为了在青少年中制定基于证据的反耻辱倡议，了解哪些社会人口群体最有可能产生污名化态度以及原因至关重要。本研究旨在确定青少年与痴呆症相关的耻辱感的因素。
本横断面调查研究共纳入了来自英格兰六个地区的 1044 名青少年（年龄在 11-18 岁之间）。采用描述性统计和多元回归分析来探讨人口统计学变量、与痴呆症相关的耻辱感的可改变因素与痴呆症相关耻辱感的结果之间的关系。通过结构方程模型的路径分析来检验直接和中介效应。
多元回归模型显示，年龄较小、与痴呆症接触程度较高、同理心水平较高、痴呆症知识水平较高、对老年人的亲和力较高的青少年，与青少年对痴呆症的积极态度相关（p<0.05）。在可接受的结构方程模型中，同理心、接触程度和痴呆症知识是痴呆症相关耻辱感的关键中介因素（p<0.05）。
本研究强调了可改变的因素，如接触程度、年龄歧视和同理心，在痴呆症相关耻辱感如何在青少年时期开始形成方面可能具有重要作用。开发基于接触的策略，激发同理心反应，可能是减少青少年耻辱感倡议的有用目标。
