NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS, HEALTH, DEPRESSION, AND LEVEL OF FUNCTIONING AMONG NURSING-HOME RESIDENTS

A six-month longitudinal design was used to assess the relations among functional ability, medically disabling conditions, cognitive function, depression, and negative psychiatric symptoms in a nursing home sample. Seventy intermediate and skilled care residents were interviewed, with 51 completing the six-month follow-up. Negative symptoms were found to be related approximately equally to physical disability, boredom, and depression, but were not strongly predicted by any study variables. The most stable relationship observed was that between negative symptoms and functioning in the realm of activities of daily living (ADL). Negative symptoms predicted change in ADL functioning across the six-month period of the study. The findings have possible implications for predicting mortality and focusing interventions on what appears to be a general decline syndrome in nursing home elderly.