The role of personality and coping style in relation to awareness of current functioning in early-stage dementia

This study investigated the role of psychological factors in unawareness in early-stage dementia, focusing on personality and coping strategies. Forty-nine individuals with a 'non-frontal' dementia and their partners completed standardized self-report questionnaires. Multiple regression analyses indicated that personality factors, in particular negative attitudes towards emotional expression, were related to avoidant coping in managing the threat of dementia. Neither negative attitudes towards emotional expression nor avoidant behavioural coping related to unawareness after controlling for relevant disease-related and emotional variables. However, a relationship was found between conscientiousness and unawareness. The findings were interpreted with reference to literature on processes of denial and a distinction between conscious behavioural avoidance and unconscious defensive denial was made. Implications for clinical practice were considered.