Agency and Communion in People with Alzheimer’s Disease, as Described by Themselves and their Spousal Carers

Abstract

Agency (individuality) and communion (togetherness) are vital to a positive sense of self. People with Alzheimer’s disease are at risk of experiencing diminished agency and decreased communion. Their family members’, especially their partner’s, view on their agency and communion is also likely to influence their sense of agency, communion, and self. In the present study, individual interviews with 10 people with Alzheimer’s disease and their spousal carers were qualitatively analysed to describe how in each couple the two spouses viewed the agency and communion of the person with Alzheimer’s disease from an individual perspective. The findings show that the carers generally described the agency of the person with Alzheimer’s disease as slightly weaker compared with the persons with Alzheimer’s disease themselves. The carers also appeared to have poor knowledge of what supported and threatened the sense of communion of the person with Alzheimer’s disease.