نشریه روانشناسی پیری
سال هشتم شماره 1 (پیاپی 28، بهار 1401)

Aging, as one of the most critical stages of human development, has its own characteristics and conditions. In the meantime, rumination and existential anxiety are among the most common mental health issues in the elderly that proper intervention can be conducted to improve them. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of compassion-based therapy on rumination and existential anxiety in the elderly. It was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and control group design. The statistical population of the study included all the elderly men living in Ahvaz in 2020. The sample consisted of 30 elderly men (60 to 70 years old) selected using available sampling method and according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The experimental group received eight 90-minute weekly sessions. The questionnaires applied in the current study included Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow’s rumination and Weems et al.’s existential anxiety. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS-22 software. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between experimental and control group in terms of rumination and existential anxiety in posttest (P<0.001). Put in other words, the results of the present study showed that compassion-based therapy is effective in reducing existential anxiety and improving rumination of the elderly. The results of the current study seem to open up new horizons in psychological interventions, and compassion-based therapy can be applied as an effective therapeutic method for improving mental health of the elderly.

Aging is a natural and sensitive period in a person’s life that is associated with a wide range of physiological and psychological changes, including the increase of irrational beliefs and the decrease of happiness. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on irrational beliefs and happiness in the elderly in Kermanshah, Iran. This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all the elderly living in Kermanshah in 2021, among whom 30 (60 to 70 years) were selected using convenience sampling and according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study, and assigned randomly into experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The experimental group received the therapeutic intervention in eight 90-minute sessions, while the control group was placed on a waiting list for treatment in the same time. The measures used in this study included the Jones’s Irrational Beliefs and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Univariate Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS-25 software. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between experimental and control groups in the post-test in terms of both irrational beliefs and happiness. In other words, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy caused the elderly to experience fewer irrational beliefs and more level of happiness (P<0.05). According to the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, therapists and health professionals can apply this therapeutic method for health-related interventions, especially to improve irrational beliefs and happiness in the elderly.

The elderly seems to be associated with many limitations and disabilities which can cause them to feel death anxiety. Therefore, the current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of well‐being therapy with acceptance and commitment therapy on death anxiety in the elderly. It was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest-follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population of the present study included the community dwelling elderly members of day care centers with death anxiety, among whom 45 were selected using the convenience sampling method and assigned randomly into three groups, with each group containing 15 people. The experimental groups underwent eight 90-minute sessions of well‐being therapy or acceptance and commitment therapy, and no action was taken for the control group. Data collection tool included the Templer's Death Anxiety Scale. The results of Univariate Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) indicated that well‐being therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy had a significant effect on reducing death anxiety compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness of the two experimental groups. According to the results, well-being therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy can be applied to improve the death anxiety in the elderly.

The aging process is associated with a gradual decline in the function of the body systems of a healthy and matured adult to a vulnerable individual with a decrease in physiological capacity. Therefore, nowadays, paying attention to the components of health in healthy people has gained especial importance. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and quality of life with the mediating role of psychological well-being in the elderly in Tehran, Iran. This was a descriptive study, of correlational type with structural equations modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of all the elderly (60 years and older) living in Tehran, among whom 200 people were selected using convenience sampling. Participants responded to the Ryff’s psychological well-being, Sherer's general self-efficacy and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) questionnaires. Pearson’s correlation coefficient and SEM were used to analyse data in SPSS and AMOS software. The results of SEM illustrated that the hypothetical model of this study has a good fit in the study sample. Thus, self-efficacy had a direct positive relationship with psychological well-being and also with quality of life. Besides, psychological well-being had a direct positive relationship with quality of life. It was also found that psychological well-being is indirectly related to quality of life through self-efficacy. The results indicate the importance of improving the living conditions of the elderly based on mental health and the degree of feeling comfortable when dealing with difficult situations.

Death anxiety can increase the negative attitude towards aging and even leads to anxiety and fear of aging. Therefore, it seems very important to know the psychological factors which affect death anxiety in the elderly. In this regard, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between loneliness, spiritual intelligence and general health with death anxiety through the mediating role of mindfulness in the elderly. The research method was correlational, of path analysis type. The statistical population of the present study included all community-dwelling elderly living in three districts of 3, 8 and 20 of Tehran, Iran in 2021, among whom 250 were selected as the sample of the study using convenience sampling method. The research instruments included Templer’s death anxiety, Russell’s loneliness, King's spiritual intelligence, Goldberg & Hillier’s general health and Baer’s mindfulness questionnaires. The results indicated that the hypothesized model has a good fit with the research data. The results of the path analysis to examine the role of the mediator variable also revealed that mindfulness mediates the relationship between loneliness, spiritual intelligence and general health with death anxiety in the elderly. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the increased level of mindfulness results in reduction of death anxiety in the elderly and it is necessary to provide solutions to increase it in the society.

Although the phenomenon of aging cannot be stopped, the disorders and disabilities of this period can be prevented or postponed through proper planning and the use of methods and principled cares. Therefore, this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness, balance and combined exercises (balance-mindfulness) on the balance and fear of falling in the elderly. The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population included all the elderly living in Mashhad, Iran with balance problem or fear of falling. Participants included 48 elderly women (60 to 79 years old) who were randomly assigned into four groups of 12 people. In order to collect data, the international falling efficiency questionnaire and Berg’s balance test were used. Univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data in SPSS-20 and Excel 2013 software. The findings revealed that compared to control group, all three training methods of mindfulness, balance, and the combination of mindfulness-balance had a significant effect on balance performance and fear of falling in the elderly women, as such, increased the balance and reduced the fear of falling. Besides, the findings indicated that there is a significant difference between the mindfulness, balance and combined methods in terms of their effectiveness on balance performance and fear of falling in the elderly women. In this sense, the combined exercise, mindfulness and balance methods had a greater effect on improving balance and reducing the fear of falling, respectively. Therefore, in order to improve the level of motor (balance) and psychological (fear of falling) indicators affecting the performance of the elderly women, it is recommended to use a combination of balance exercises and mindfulness, considering the characteristics of exercise.

The spread of Coronavirus is an important challenge for health care systems in Iran. Attachment styles, self-coherence and spiritual intelligence are the variables that can have a significant impact on mental health and quality of life in the elderly during the outbreak of Coronavirus. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the mediating role of spiritual intelligence in the relationship between attachment styles and self-coherence with perceived stress during the outbreak of coronavirus in the elderly. This was a correlational study of path analysis type. The statistical population included all the elderly living in nursing homes in Sanandaj in 2021, among whom 270 (146 men and 124 women) people were selected using convenience sampling method. Data were collected using Collins’s adult attachment styles, Antonovsky’s sense of cohesion, Cohen et al.’s perceived stress, and King’s spiritual intelligence Scales. The results of path analysis revealed that the hypothetical model has a good fit in the sample of this study. As such, secure and avoidant attachment styles had an indirect relationship with perceived stress through spiritual intelligence, and sense of cohesion indicated an indirect relationship with perceived stress through spiritual intelligence (P<0.05). The findings emphasize the importance of the relationship between attachment styles and a sense of cohesion with respect to the mediating role of spiritual intelligence in providing psychological assistance for the elderly in order to manage their perceived stress.