Evaluating the Relationship Between Premorbid Leisure Preferences and Wandering Among Patients with Dementia

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to report on a preliminary study that evaluated the relationship between premorbid leisure preferences and wandering among individuals with dementia. Surrogates of twenty wanderers and twenty non-wanderers were administered a demographic questionnaire and the Leisure Diagnostic Battery Version C-Scale G. The findings revealed that wanderers scored significantly higher than non-wanderers on the activity-type of music and drama (p < .01). No significant relationships were found on activity-style. A qualitative follow-up revealed that wanderers, more-so than non-wanderers, throughout life tended to invest, physically and mentally, in music. An implication of the study is that music, perhaps more than other activities, can accommodate a personality type that is often expressed through continual activity. Further research is needed to explore the meaning of music to people who wander and measure its potential effects as an intervention.