Cross-cultural differences in demented geropsychiatric inpatients with behavioral disturbances

• Published in: International journal of geriatric psychiatry 1999-10, Vol.14 (10), p.845-850
• Main Authors: Akpaffiong, Macjohn, Kunik, Mark E., Hale, Danielle, Molinari, Victor, Orengo, Claudia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans - psychology; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; behavioral disturbances; Biological and medical sciences; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Culture; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; dementia; Dementia - psychology; Dementia - rehabilitation; Depressive Disorder - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder - psychology; Depressive Disorder - therapy; ethnicity; European Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; Female; Geriatrics; Health Services for the Aged; Hospitalization; Humans; interdisciplinary treatment approach; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental Disorders - etiology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Middle Aged; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Patient Care Team; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychomotor Agitation - diagnosis; Psychomotor Agitation - psychology; Psychomotor Agitation - therapy; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Retrospective Studies; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenia - rehabilitation; Schizophrenic Psychology; Severity of Illness Index
• ISSN: 0885-6230; 1099-1166
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1166(199910)14:10<845::AID-GPS34>3.0.CO;2-H

Objective Cross‐cultural differences in treatment and diagnosis exist in several psychiatric disorders. This study examines phenomenological and treatment differences between Caucasian and African‐American patients presenting to a geropsychiatric unit for treatment of behavioral disturbances associated with dementia. Methods One hundred and forty‐one Caucasian patients were compared to 56 African‐American patients consecutively admitted to a VA geropsychiatric inpatient unit. At admission, differences in behavior disturbances between the two groups were examined using the Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE), Cohen‐Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM‐D), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia (PANSS). Differences in treatment were assessed by comparing medication types and doses between the two groups. Results and Conclusion Results showed that Caucasian and African‐American patients with dementia and behavioral disturbances presented and responded similarly to like treatment on an inpatient geropsychiatric unit. The similarity between the two groups may be explained by the multi‐ethnic make‐up of the interdisciplinary treatment team and by the use of standardized scales to measure symptomatology and response. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.