Future-Oriented Repetitive Thought: Pessimistic View of Future in Patients With Alzheimer Disease

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we, for the first time, evaluated future-oriented repetitive thought in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), that is, how they think and worry about the future. Methods: We administered the Future-Oriented Repetitive Thought scale to 34 patients with AD and 37 control participants. This scale assessed 3 categories of future-oriented repetitive thought: (1) pessimistic repetitive future thinking (eg, “I think about the possibility of losing people or things that are important to me”), (2) repetitive thinking about future goals (eg, “I make specific plans for how to get things that I want in life”), and (3) positive indulging about the future (eg, “When I picture good things happening in my future, it is as if they were actually happening to me now”). Results: Analysis demonstrated more pessimistic repetitive future thinking, but less repetitive thinking about future goals and positive indulging about the future, in patients with AD than in control participants. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate a pessimistic view of future in patients with AD, which is possibly attributed to hopelessness and depression.