Compromised Agency in the Subjective Experiences of Temporal Distortions Among Institutionalized Alzheimer’s Patients in China: A Qualitative Study

Temporal distortions in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients have been extensively studied from neuroanatomical and empirical perspectives. However, the subjective experiences of these temporal disturbances are relatively under-researched. This study, using inductive content analysis, explored the lived experiences of temporal distortions among AD patients in two integrated clinical and elderly care centers in China. Seventeen participants were involved in the study. Three key themes emerged regarding Chinese institutionalized AD patients' experiences of temporal distortions: limited agency in temporal orientation of the present, futile agency in mental time travel to the past, and relinquished agency in the imagination and planning of the future. The study identifies institutional and cultural factors as potential contributing influences. The scheduled institutional routines can constrain AD patients' sense of agency over temporal perceptions. Expectations derived from the Chinese cultural principle of filial piety might also contribute to the participants' relinquishment of agency.