Abstract
If nostalgia is to be used as a clinical intervention to boost well-being in dementia by reducing threat, then it is important to assess its therapeutic potential. Results Searches carried out in July 2014 and updated in February 2018 identified 47 eligible experimental studies comparing nostalgic reminiscence and non-nostalgic reminiscence to be included in the meta-analysis. Nostalgic reminiscence had moderate effects on positive affect (0.51 (0.37, 0.65), p= 0.001), social connectedness (0.72 (0.57, 0.87), p= 0.001), self-esteem (0.50 (0.30, 0.70), p= 0.001), meaning in life (0.77 (0.47, 1.08), p= 0.001) and optimism (0.38 (0.28, 0.47), p= 0.001) and a large effect on self-continuity (0.81 (0.55, 1.07), p= 0.001). There was, however, no difference between the effect of nostalgic reminiscence and non-nostalgic reminiscence for negative affect (-0.06 (-0.20, 0.09), p= 0.443). Conclusion This systematic review and meta-analysis provides an overview of the evidence base for nostalgia. This is an important stage in developing nostalgia as a clinical intervention for people with dementia which might be achieved, for instance, by adapting current reminiscence and life review techniques. This meta-analysis will therefore also serve as a valuable reference point for the continued exploration of nostalgia as an intervention.
Highlights
Nostalgic reminiscence involves the recall of the past by deliberately focusing on cherished and happy memories (Sedikides, Wildschut, & Baden, 2004)
Several studies have suggested that nostalgic reminiscence enhances key psychological resources among non-clinical populations (Sedikides et al, 2015) that act as buffers against anxiety arising from threat
Most experimental studies suggest that nostalgic reminiscence has statistically significant positive impact on several psychological resources than non-nostalgic reminiscence (Routledge, 2015), it is important to understand whether the beneficial impact of nostalgic reminiscence will be of a size and consistency that would translate into an appreciable clinical effect
Summary
Nostalgic reminiscence involves the recall of the past by deliberately focusing on cherished and happy memories (Sedikides, Wildschut, & Baden, 2004). Several studies have suggested that nostalgic reminiscence enhances key psychological resources among non-clinical populations (Sedikides et al, 2015) that act as buffers against anxiety arising from threat. As such, these studies provide emerging evidence that nostalgic reminiscence has the potential to be used as an intervention with clinical populations (Routledge, 2015; Routledge, Wildschut, Sedikides, & Juhl, 2013). As nostalgic reminiscence is increasingly studied as a psychological resource for people with dementia (Ismail, 2017), it is important to have a clear and robust synthesis of the evidence of effectiveness from those studies within non-clinical populations in terms of effect size. Most experimental studies suggest that nostalgic reminiscence has statistically significant positive impact on several psychological resources than non-nostalgic reminiscence (Routledge, 2015), it is important to understand whether the beneficial impact of nostalgic reminiscence will be of a size and consistency that would translate into an appreciable clinical effect
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