Variation of the choices of caregivers’ vocabulary about elders misusing of alcohol
Old age and alcohol misuse concentrate negative stereotypes, which can lead among caregivers to a conjunction of negative representations of elders misusing of alcohol, and then lead them to neglect these people as a translation of negative counter-attitudes on the caregivers’ part. Objectives: To approach caring attitudes through the form of speeches collected about elders misusing of alcohol. Methods: A survey based on individual research interviews were conducted among 45 hospital caregivers (69 % were women) among 582 nurses and 116 physicians working in 8 health facilities (hospitals or nursing homes for elders), allowing textual, non-computerized analysis and automated analysis of contents by Alceste® software. Results: If humor specifically emerges from the non-computarized textual analysis as soon as the talks concern alcohol use or misuse, quickly the choice of words appears to be altered through the Alceste® analysis, with recourse to familiar or trivial words that are never found around any other theme of discourses. Discussion: These findings open to various explanatory hypotheses for language alterations between: proximity quest, game on the similarity-dissimilarity, outcoming features from so called self-harmed diseases, masochistic provocation, disgust inspired by these patients, before at least considering some positive aspects daring to speak of the pleasure associated with drinking alcohol. Conclusion: Beyond the appearence of the discourses’ variations, there is the consideration of internal elements of the caregivers’ thinking and those cared for which undergird care providers’ behavior. This approach seeks to promote a psychodynamic regard on the elderly who misuse alcohol through the care-givers attitudes.