Healthy Living MCI Study

Resources for Individuals and Families

Maladaptive behavior refers to types of behaviors that inhibit a person’s ability to adjust to particular situations. Avoiding situations because of unrealistic fears may initially reduce anxiety, but this avoidance is just that: it does not solve the actual problems. It is not uncommon for persons with MCI to develop maladaptive behavior to their diagnosis to avoid confronting their disease. For many, MCI diagnosis leads to experiences of emotional turmoil, a lack of clarity around their diagnosis and the future, and feeling little hope given the lack of available treatments.

Specifically, participants with MCI report poor mobility/balance, challenges to medication adherence, lack of education/ understanding about MCI, difficulty with healthcare communication, withdrawal from social activities, and difficulty managing finances. Developing strategies to circumvent the development of such behaviors could significantly reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with MCI.

​

The MCI Healthy Living Study focuses on supporting individuals diagnosed with MCI and a study partner to adopt adaptive behaviors to circumvent further cognitive decline and interruptions to their daily living. 

​

More information is available from the following paper (Gibson, Bardach & Jicha, 2020).