Premorbid characteristics and wandering behavior in persons with dementia.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to explore relationships of premorbid personality and behavioral responses to stress with wandering behavior of persons with dementia in long-term care facilities. Ambulatory residents (N = 108) with dementia were selected from 21 long-term care facilities. The Mini-Mental State Examination, the NEO Five-Factor Personality Inventory, the Behavioral Responses to Stress Scale, and the Revised Algase Wandering Scale-Nursing Home Version (RAWS-NH) were used as data collection tools. When the MMSE and age were controlled, regression analyses revealed that premorbid extroversion and premorbid negative verbalization stress response were significant negative predictors for the overall RAWS-NH and some subscales.