Background: Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems among older adults. Although there are interventions that effectively reduce late-life anxiety, anxious older adults often do...Show moreBackground: Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems among older adults. Although there are interventions that effectively reduce late-life anxiety, anxious older adults often do not receive adequate treatment and are less likely to benefit from psychotherapy, compared to younger adults. To enhance mental health services for the elderly, studies should explore which factors predict treatment outcomes, rather than solely focus on the overall treatment effectiveness. The aim of the present study is to investigate demographic (age and gender) and professional (years of working experience and geriatric education) therapeutic characteristics, as predictors of treatment outcomes (anxiety severity and treatment satisfaction) in anxious older adults. Methods: The study is a post-hoc analysis using data from a previous Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) on treatment effectiveness in older adults with anxiety complaints. We examined data from 275 patients (55-75 years old) and 33 therapists, who worked in general practices in the Netherlands. We developed two multilevel regression models and intercept-only models, for both therapeutic outcomes. Results: The analyses showed that none of the therapeutic characteristics significantly predicted anxiety severity and treatment satisfaction at posttreatment; the therapist factor explained 0% and 15% of the variance in older adults’ anxiety and satisfaction levels, respectively. Discussion: Possible lack of power in the study hinders the interpretation of the null-findings regarding the demographic and professional therapist characteristics. The therapist factor does not predict late-life anxiety, but does have an effect on patients’ satisfaction. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.Show less
Self-esteem is an accumulation of cognitive and emotional self-reflections. Perfectionism and self-esteem in adolescence are associated to later life (mal)adaptive development. Whereas self...Show moreSelf-esteem is an accumulation of cognitive and emotional self-reflections. Perfectionism and self-esteem in adolescence are associated to later life (mal)adaptive development. Whereas self-oriented perfectionists (SOP) aspire to an ideal standard for themselves, socially prescribed perfectionists (SPP) experience pressure from others. While striving traits of SOP (SOP-S) are associated with healthy adjustment, critical SOP (SOP-C) and SPP tendencies have been associated with maladjustment. It remains unclear whether intellectual giftedness, a high cognitive ability level, serves as a risk factor or a protective factor for self-esteem. Nevertheless, subgroups of gifted individuals seem vulnerable to maladaptive perfectionism. Therefore, this study investigated associations between perfectionism and self-esteem through multiple linear regression. SOP-S was assumed to have a positive relationship to self-esteem, whereas SOP-C and SPP, respectively, were predicted to have a negative relationship to self-esteem. Moreover, giftedness was hypothesized to be a moderator for all three relationships. Gifted and nongifted children, ages 10 through 12, completed the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS) and the Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale (RSES). SOP-C was indeed negatively associated with self-esteem. Neither SOP-S or SPP appeared significantly related to self-esteem. No moderation effect of giftedness was found, suggesting a similar effect of SOP-C on self-esteem for gifted and nongifted students. The lack of associations for either SOP-S or SPP with self-esteem was not in line with past literature. The CAPS may have failed to capture the essence the SOP-S dimension and the developmental stage of participants might have influenced their experience of SPP. Future studies should include larger sample sizes and preferably additional measures of perfectionism. Multiple reporters would be beneficial.Show less