Memory Mcdougall, Graham J. (2004)

Memory

McDougall, Graham J. (2004) "Memory Self-Efficacy and Memory Performance Among Black and White Elders." Nursing Research. Sept./Oct. 2004. 53(5), 323-331. Retrieved from Medline 26 Jan 2005 at http://intapp.medscape.com/px/medlineapp/getdoc?ord=1&searchid=2&have_local_holdings_file=1&local_journals_only=0&searchstring=McDougall+white+and+black+elders+memory

Everyone experiences memory lapses, even the youngest among us. Everyone experiences certain cognitive lapses and deficits, to varying degrees, in their long-term but particularly their short-term memory as they age. How does a practitioner assess this in an unbiased fashion? How does one discern the difference between normal cognitive functioning of memory and normal responses to aging, and pathological or severe dementia that requires intervention? How does one improve the factors that contribute to retention as subjects age? Graham J. McDougall's article does not purport to answer all of those questions. However, he does offer the intriguing proposition that the greater the diversity of the sampling of elderly people, the clearer the portrait of the aging mind can be gleaned for geriatric research. A lack of self-confidence overall, because of societal factors, can create less confidence in one's memory as one ages.

McDougall's study was adjusted for demographic as well as racial differences. The memory performance of Black and White American older adults were examined over the course of the study and compared. All participants were adults living in community settings. They participated in face-to-face interviews and filled out structured, subjective questionnaires, and then submitted to performance tests, including the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test.