Browsing by Author "Scogin, Forrest R."

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    The Effect of Social Support on Quality of Life in Older Adults Receiving Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
    (Routledge, 2015) LaRocca, Michael A.; Scogin, Forrest R.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The current study explores the role of social support in changes in quality of life resulting from home-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). One hundred thirty-seven participants, characterized primarily as rural, low-resource, and frail, were randomly assigned to either CBT or a minimal support control condition. Hierarchical regression revealed that positive change in satisfaction with social support was associated with improvement in quality of life beyond the effects of the CBT treatment. In addition, pretreatment satisfaction with social support and change in satisfaction with social support moderated the effect of CBT on quality of life. These results suggest that bolstering social support concomitant to CBT may increase quality of life.
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    The Senior Sex Education Experience (SEXEE) Study: Considerations for the Development of an Adult Sex Education Pilot Intervention
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Pierpaoli Parker, Christina; King, Martha R.; Scogin, Forrest R.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Overview: Remaining sexually active into later life has health benefits and risks, but middle-aged and older adults (MOAs) receive virtually no sex education. Unprecedented spikes in the prevalence of later-life sexual dysfunction and disease notwithstanding, no study to date has conceptualized a framework for an evidence- and needs-based sex education program for adults. Using the biopsychosocial and sexual health models as guiding theories, this research conceptualized one such program. Methods: A key component of analysis assessed physicians’ and adults’ lived experiences, needs, and recommendations directly, integrating findings into a usable framework. The purposive sample included 17 adults, ages 53 to 77 (M = 65; SD = 7.63; 64.70% female) and six physicians, including two family medicine providers, two geriatricians, and two urogynecologists (M = 56.16; SD = 13.34; 50% female). All participants provided basic demographic information and completed a measure of late-life sexual knowledge. MOAs participated in three separate focus groups to determine their needs, interest in, and suggestions for an educational intervention, while providing additional insights into their lived experiences with aging and sexuality. Physicians completed semi-structured interviews to describe their experiences discussing sexual health, identify the perceived facilitators and barriers to those discussions, and elicit their program recommendations. Constructivist grounded theory oriented qualitative coding techniques. Results: Late life sexual knowledge appeared suboptimal among MOAs and physicians alike. Both groups agreed on the value of an adult sex education program. Of the 21 separate educational modules proposed, physicians and MOAs shared six, including (a) sexual changes with aging, (b) the spectrum of sex, (c) STDs, (d) health and sexuality, (e) sex and dementia, and (f) dating. Adults reported receiving and internalizing ageist messages about their sexuality. Though MOAs and physicians considered sexuality important to successful aging, both identified individual, dynamic, and environmental barriers to clinical sexual health discussions, including (a) time and other logistical barriers; (b) ageist assumptions, attitudes, and beliefs about sexuality; (c) physicians’ perceived lack of knowledge or experience; and (d) avoidance and discomfort. However, they agreed on five facilitators, including (a) bedside manner, (b) rapport, (c) privacy, (d) standardized sexual health assessment, and (e) a comfortable clinical setting.
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    Treatment of depressive symptoms in diverse, rural, and vulnerable older adults
    (Wiley, 2014) Scogin, Forrest R.; Moss, Kathryn; Harris, Grant M.; Presnell, Andrew H.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    BackgroundWe examined the effects of home-delivered cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) on depressive symptoms among rural, diverse, and vulnerable older adults. Furthermore, we differentiated depression into its two salient aspects: psychological and somatic. MethodData came from a randomized controlled experiment of CBT on 134 individuals residing in rural Alabama. ResultsCognitive-behavior therapy resulted in significantly lower depressive symptom severity scores. When depressive symptoms were categorized as psychological or somatic, CBT was found to significantly improve the former but not the latter. Notably, there was a trend toward somatic symptom improvement. ConclusionCognitive-behavior therapy can be an effective treatment for depression in a hard-to-reach group of older adults. Home delivery affords advantages but is also an expensive delivery modality. Diverse older adults responded to the CBT intervention. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.