The effect of group reminiscence on happiness of the elderly

some studies have confirmed the effectiveness of reminiscence on mental health، although there are conflicting results in this area. There are no interventional، localized and confirmed studies into the effectiveness of this intervention on mental wellbeing of old people in our country.

To determine the effect of reminiscence therapy on the elderly happiness.

In this clinical trial، 64 elderly referred to the Jahandidegan center of Gorgan were selected and randomly divided into control and intervention groups. Happiness scores were measured before intervention، during، and one month after the end of intervention.. Reminiscence was conducted in six sessions over three weeks. Group discussions were held for the control group. Data were collected using valid and reliable happiness questionnaires (oxford) and a brief cognitive-mental examination. Fisher’s exact test، Chi-square، independent، repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferoni post-hoc and SPSS version 20 were used.

The mean age of the participants was 65. 5±6. 2، and 50. 8% of them were men. Happiness pre-intervention scores were 43. 9±10. 6 and 45. 6±8. 3 in control and the intervention groups، respectively (p>0. 05). Multivariate analysis with repeated measures showed that the interaction between treatment group and the time was significantly effective on the elderly happiness score (p<0. 01). Bonferroni post-hoc test scores before and after the intervention (P<0. 03) and scores during and after the intervention (P<0. 03) showed significant differences.

group discussion and reminiscence are effective in increasing the elderly happiness scores. However، reminiscence was a more effective intervention; therefore، it can be an inexpensive way to increase the vitality of the elderly with no side-effects.