Daily Emotional Experiences in Persons with Parkinson Disease: Relations to Subjective Cognitive Complaints and Quality of Life

AimThis study aims to explore positive and negative emotional experiences during the performance of daily occupations in Persons with Parkinson Disease (PwPD).MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 32 PwPD and 14 healthy older adults. Participants completed three questionnaires that measured emotional experiences during daily occupations, subjective cognitive complaints, and quality of life.ResultsPwPD experienced higher rates of negative affect during all occupations. Lower rates of positive affect were found only during personal care tasks. Additionally, experiences of daily negative affect were positively associated with subjective cognitive complaints and negatively associated with quality of life.ConclusionDifferent rates of positive and negative affect are experienced by PwPD during daily occupations. The experience of daily emotions has implications for understanding emotional processing in neurological populations. Occupational therapy practitioners should consider the role of emotions when providing occupation-based interventions for PwPD.