Agreeableness and Activity Engagement in Nursing Home Residents with Dementia

Abstract

Residents with dementia are the least likely to be engaged in the nursing home and often spend most of their time doing nothing at all. However, resident participation in meaningful activities is important to promote both physical and psychological health. Tailoring activities to individual functional abilities and personality preferences improves both the time and level of participation. This pilot study used an analysis of covariance procedure to test the relationship between the personality trait of agreeableness and engagement when activities are ideally tailored to ability and interest. No significant difference was found between the high and low agreeableness groups, indicating that residents were more engaged when activities were individually tailored, regardless of their agreeableness level. Although low agreeableness may pose a challenge when implementing activities for people with dementia, the results of this study suggest that tailoring activities to functional ability and interest may overcome the effects.