Trajectories of Purpose in Life Across Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease or Related Dementias in Older Adulthood

Sense of purpose serves as a psychological resource for late-life health. Limited research has examined how purpose changes across chronic illness diagnoses, including a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). This study leverages data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS; = 831) to establish trajectories of purpose across ADRD diagnosis using three-year (pre-diagnosis, year of diagnosis, post-diagnosis) timespans and two comparison groups (heart disease diagnosis, no diagnosis). We observed a longitudinal decrease in purpose in the ADRD diagnosis group, = 3.85, = .003, = -0.258. This contrasts with heart disease diagnosis and no diagnosis groups, where purpose did not change over time. Older adults who receive an ADRD diagnosis may be vulnerable to a decreasing sense of purpose across their diagnosis experience. We consider social, psychological, and clinical antecedents for this trend.