Abstract
Research has shown that happiness and well-being play a fundamental role in the health of older adults. For this reason, programs based on Positive Psychology seek to improve quality of life, preventing and reducing the appearance of emotional disorders. The objective of this study was to verify whether an intervention based on Autobiographical Memory, Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Sense of humor would increase quality of life in institutionalized older adults. We used a quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-intervention measures and follow-on measures at 3, 6, and 12 months. A total of 111 institutionalized older adults participated in the study and were randomly assigned to one of three groups: experimental (n = 36), placebo (n = 39), and control (n = 36). Measurements were taken of depression, subjective happiness, satisfaction with life, psychological well-being, and specific memories. Program duration was 11 weeks, followed by refresher sessions of the activities that had been conducted. The results showed that the intervention was effective, producing lasting increase in the participating adults’ well-being, maintained for the following 12 months, in contrast to the other two groups. In conclusion, the proposed intervention proved to be a novel tool that was effective, easily applied, and able to improve quality of life and emotional disorders in older adults.
Highlights
Since the late 20th century, aging is no longer being considered an inevitable, universal process of decline, but rather a period where the individual can develop potentialities and resources that were not present in earlier stages of life
The results showed that the relationship between gratitude and subjective well-being remained relatively constant throughout life
As we have presented in the foregoing, studies on this type of intervention in older adults indicate that benefits are produced (Bolier et al, 2013), even though in most cases they disappear after a time (Smith and Hanni, 2019)
Summary
Since the late 20th century, aging is no longer being considered an inevitable, universal process of decline, but rather a period where the individual can develop potentialities and resources that were not present in earlier stages of life. Successful aging includes three main components: low probability of disease and diseaserelated disability, high physical and cognitive functional capacity, and active engagement with life. This last component focuses mainly on maintaining interpersonal relations and productive activities. Keeping and even broadening one’s interpersonal relations is a significant determinant of longevity, given that social support – whether emotional or instrumental – can have positive effects on health. The effectiveness of such support will depend on the situation and the Autobiographical Memory and Strengths individual. Productive activity is related to functional capacity, education, and self-efficacy, which together with environmental mastery consistently predict sustained activity in old age (Rowe and Kahn, 1997)
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