An increasing amount of research suggests that self-perceptions are an important predictor of cognitive deficits, not only in the elderly healthy population but also in younger patients suffering from neurological impairments. Many researchers claim that self-perceptions of cognitive deficits may be used as an important first sign in the process of diagnosing neurological diseases or cognitive decline. Perceiving one's own cognitive decline also leads to lower self-esteem and a depressed state. The purpose of the study was to investigate the links between the actual, diagnostically measured cognitive problems and self-perceptions of cognitive functions in elderly individuals and patients with brain impairment. In addition, we wanted to develop a tool for measuring subjective cognitive decline in Slovene. Our study included 205 participants. The first sample consisted of 151 normative elderly participants (mean age was 73 years, SD = 7 years), and the second sample consisted of 54 patients of University Rehabilitation Institute Soča (average age = 51 years, SD = 15 years). After signing the consent form, the participants solved an adaptation of the 20-item Cognitive Change Inventory – CCI. Results of neuropsychological evaluation (attention span, executive functions and memory tests) and anamnestic data were also obtained for the clinical subsample. The psychometric characteristics of the adapted questionnaire proved to be appropriate, factor analysis showed a one-factor structure of the questionnaire ( was 0,97 on the normative and 0,77 on the clinical sample). In the normative elderly group, age statistically significantly predicted poorer self-perception of cognitive function. In the clinical sample, a positive correlation was observed between poorer assessment of one's own cognitive functions and the objective cognitive impairment. Therefore, the adapted Cognitive Change Inventory could be used for early detection of cognitive decline.
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