Predictors of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: Based on the Model of Multi-Dimensional Behavior

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify factors predicting behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in persons with dementia. Factors including the patient, caregiver, and environment based on the multi-dimensional behavioral model were tested. METHODS: The subjects of the study were 139 pairs of persons with dementia and their caregivers selected from four geriatric long-term care facilities located in S city, G province, Korea. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, inverse normal transformations, Pearson correlation coefficients, Spearman's correlation coefficients and hierarchical multiple regression with the SPSS Statistics 22.0 for Windows program. RESULTS: Mean score for BPSD was 40.16. Depression (β=.42, p<.001), exposure to noise in the evening noise (β=−.20, p=.014), and gender (β=.17, p=.042) were factors predicting BPSD in long-term care facilities, which explained 25.2% of the variance in the model. CONCLUSION: To decrease BPSD in persons with dementia, integrated nursing interventions should consider factors of the patient, caregiver, and environment.