Positive psychology outcome measures for people with dementia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of positive psychology outcome measures for use within psychosocial dementia research.
IRAS ID
186196
Contact name
Charlotte R Stoner
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 4 days
Research summary
This project will evaluate two newly developed positive psychology outcome measure's for people with dementia: the Sense of Independence in Dementia (SoI) and Positive Psychology Outcome Measure (PPOM). The PPOM is an adapted measure designed to assess the degree of hope and resilience experienced by people with dementia. The SoI is a newly developed scale that aims to assess the level of perceived independence and social connectedness in people with dementia. The current study will also examine the applicability of the Control, Autonomy, Self-realisation and Pleasure (CASP-19) (Hyde, Wiggins, Higgs & Blane, 2003) for people with dementia by means of appropriate psychometric analyses. The CASP-19 is an established measure for older adults.
The measures will be piloted with 40 people with mild to moderate dementia and subject to an assessment of psychometric properties. Following successful completion, a main data collection will commence with an estimated sample size of 155. In addition to completing the novel measures, people with dementia will be asked to complete additional measures selected for a convergent validity analysis. Data will then be subject to statistical analyses to establish the novel measures and CASP-19's reliability and validity.
This study is important as, despite positive psychology being increasingly recognised as an important agent in wellbeing, it is yet to be applied to people with dementia. This may be due to a lack of population specific outcome measures.
Therefore, robust outcome measures with tested psychometric properties are essential to highlight these positive attributes and also to evaluate the efficacy of psychosocial interventions that aim to promote and maintain wellbeing and quality of life for people with dementia.
REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0443
Date of REC Opinion
8 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion