TY - JOUR

T1 - Preference for leisure items over edible items in individuals with dementia: A replication

AU - Lucock, Zoe

AU - Sharp, Rebecca

AU - Jones, Robert

N1 - This article is based on work submitted by the first author under the supervision of the second and third author for a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology degree at Bangor University. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the SEAB journal. It is not the copy of record.'

PY - 2020/7/26

Y1 - 2020/7/26

N2 - We replicated previous research in which adults with dementia tended to show a preference for leisure items over edible items when presented in the same array. Additionally, we conducted engagement analyses with the highest, middle, and lowest preference leisure items to determine whether relative preference corresponded to engagement in the natural environment. The most highly preferred stimulus for 6 out of 7 participants was a leisure item, and for each of those six the top 3 preferred stimuli were leisure stimuli. For 4 participants, the most preferred stimulus also produced the longest duration of engagement. We discuss the issues we encountered when conducting preference assessments with adults with intact vocal verbal repertoires, and suggest potential explanations for the displacement of edibles by leisure stimuli in older adults with dementia.

AB - We replicated previous research in which adults with dementia tended to show a preference for leisure items over edible items when presented in the same array. Additionally, we conducted engagement analyses with the highest, middle, and lowest preference leisure items to determine whether relative preference corresponded to engagement in the natural environment. The most highly preferred stimulus for 6 out of 7 participants was a leisure item, and for each of those six the top 3 preferred stimuli were leisure stimuli. For 4 participants, the most preferred stimulus also produced the longest duration of engagement. We discuss the issues we encountered when conducting preference assessments with adults with intact vocal verbal repertoires, and suggest potential explanations for the displacement of edibles by leisure stimuli in older adults with dementia.

KW - Alzheimer's disease

KW - Major Neurocognitive Disorder

KW - dementia

KW - engagement

KW - preference assessment

U2 - 10.1002/jaba.679

DO - 10.1002/jaba.679

M3 - Article

VL - 53

SP - 1780

EP - 1788

JO - Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis

JF - Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis

SN - 0021-8855

IS - 3

ER -