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Personal factors contributing to deficits in self-awareness of cognitive impairment

75 subjects, 52 HIV+ and 23 HIV- but considering themselves to be at risk for HIV, completed a psychosocial interview based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID), the Patients Assessment of Own Functioning (PAOF) questionnaire, and a battery of neuropsychological tests. Subjects were then categorized into one of three clinical impairment groups and one of three self-reported impairment groups. Based upon the differences between their clinical impairment group and self-reported impairment group, subjects were classified as being aware, having limited awareness, or having poor awareness. Factors correlated with deficits in awareness included age and performance on the Digit Symbol test and a test of simple reaction time. In addition, those with more severe cognitive impairment were less aware than those who were normal or borderline. A one-way ANOVA suggested that the poor awareness group differed significantly from both the aware and limited awareness groups on the Digit Symbol test and the Rey Figure Immediate and Delayed Recall. The aware and limited awareness groups were not significantly different for any factor. Overall, poor awareness was associated with poorer test performance. In those with HIV/AIDS, age was inversely related to self-awareness, with those who were older and impaired demonstrating better awareness than those who were younger and impaired. This research has implications for understanding poor awareness in HIV/AIDS and for creating appropriate and effective rehabilitation plans.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-07312007-140625
Date12 September 2007
CreatorsJuengst, Shannon
ContributorsElizabeth Skidmore, PhD, OTR/L, Occupational Therapy, James Becker, PhD, Department of Psychology, Thesis Director: Michael Pramuka, PhD, CRC, Rehabilitation Sciences and Technology, Michael McCue, PhD, CRC, Rehabilitation Sciences and Technology
PublisherUniversity of Pittsburgh
Source SetsUniversity of Pittsburgh
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-07312007-140625/
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