Meaning in life matters for older adults with Alzheimer's disease in residential care: associations with life satisfaction and depressive symptoms

Objectives: To examine whether previously established associations between experiences of meaning in life on the one hand and life satisfaction and depressive symptoms on the other hand are transferable to a population of older residential care residents with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Design: Cross-sectional study using questionnaires administered in a structured interview format. Setting: Nine residential care settings in Flanders, Belgium. Participants: Convenience sample of 138 older adults (+65) living in residential care with a diagnosis of AD. Measurements: Meaning in life was measured using the Presence of Meaning (PoM) subscale of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire-Short Form, life satisfaction was measured using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), depressive symptoms were measured using a five-item short form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and general cognitive status was measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results: Controlling for demographic variables (age, sex, and marital status) and cognitive status, meaning in life scores were positively predictive of life satisfaction scores and negatively predictive of depressive symptoms. Post-hoc analyses suggested a possible interaction between meaning in life and cognitive status in predicting both outcomes of psychological functioning (GDS and SWLS). Conclusion: The presence of meaning in life is related to important well-being outcomes for older adults with AD living in residential care. More awareness for the importance of existential themes and interventions fostering meaning might be warranted for this population.