The association between boredom proneness, functional status, and views on ageing in geriatric patients

TL;DR

Older patients with negative views on aging are more likely to feel bored, which is linked to slower recovery during rehabilitation.

Contribution

This study is the first to show that boredom proneness, influenced by negative views on aging, predicts poorer functional recovery in geriatric rehabilitation.

Findings

Negative views on aging strongly predict higher boredom proneness in older patients.

Higher boredom proneness is associated with smaller improvements in functional status during rehabilitation.

Boredom proneness reduces expected rehabilitation gains by nearly one Barthel point per scale point.

Abstract

Boredom proneness in later life has been linked to poorer psychological and functional outcomes, yet little is known about how individual Views on Ageing (VoA) influence boredom or whether boredom per se predicts rehabilitation success. We therefore examined (1) the cross-sectional associations of positive and negative VoA with boredom proneness, and (2) the longitudinal effect of boredom on functional gains during a two-week geriatric rehabilitation.

In a sample of 120 inpatients (mean age 83.4 ± 6.4 years; 70.8% female) undergoing geriatric early complex rehabilitation, boredom was measured at admission using the eight-item Short Boredom Proneness Scale (SBPS). VoA were assessed with a 16-item questionnaire covering the domains physical decline, continuous growth, self-knowledge and social losses. Functional status was quantified by the Barthel Index at admission and discharge. We first fitted linear regression models of SBPS on VoA, adjusting sequentially for age, sex, living situation, education, and depressive symptoms (GDS). Next, we applied a longitudinal mixed-effects model to test SBPS as a predictor of functional improvement.

Negative VoA strongly predicted higher SBPS (B = 0.39, p < 0.001) even after full adjustment (adj R2 = 0.39). Higher SBPS was associated with smaller changes in functional status in unadjusted (β = −0.93, p = 0.014), partially adjusted (β = −0.77, p = 0.009), and fully adjusted models (β = −0.84, p = 0.012). ANCOVA confirmed a negative SBPS effect on discharge Barthel (β = −0.90, p = 0.002). Mixed modeling revealed a significant Time × SBPS interaction (β = −0.94, p = 0.010), indicating that each SBPS point reduced expected rehabilitation gain by 0.94 Barthel points (ICC = 0.19).

Older patients holding negative VoA are more prone to boredom. This proneness is further associated with less functional recovery during rehabilitation. Interventions targeting maladaptive VoA and boredom may enhance engagement and improve rehabilitative outcomes.

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