Group Reminiscence Therapy: An Effective Intervention to Improve Depression, Life Satisfaction, and Well-being in Older Adults?

Abstract China is experiencing a large increase in elderly population. In 2019, China’s population aged 60 and above had reached 253 million, accounting for 18.1% of the total population (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2020). By 2050, the number of adults aged 60+ would be up to 430 million, reaching one third of the total population (Du, Zhai & Chen, 2005). Considering such a rapid aging process and the existing large number of older adults in China, it becomes imperative to investigate how psychosocial factors affect this group’s subjective well-being. This study proposed that, among older adults, higher support received from each of the three relational sources (adult children, family and friends) were associated with reduced loneliness and improved well-being. Structural equation modeling was conducted using a sample of rural adults aged 60 and older (N= 1142) from the 2018 wave of data from the Longitudinal Study of Older Adults in Anhui Province, China. Findings indicated that support from adult children directly and indirectly decreased older adults’ depression and improved their life satisfaction through loneliness; while support from family members directly decreased depression but did not directly improve life satisfaction or indirectly improve well-being through loneliness. Although support from friends did not have a significant impact on older adults’ well-being, it indirectly improved well-being through reduced loneliness. Findings have implications for programs or interventions targeting both parent -adult-child support and friends support and reducing rural older adults’ loneliness.

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Measuring engagement among older adults using a multidimensional analysis of communication: Method Design (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.35469 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Madeleine Radnan ◽

Weicong Li ◽

Catherine J Stevens ◽

Clair Hill ◽

Caroline Jones

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Older Adult ◽

Multidimensional Analysis ◽

Facial Movement ◽

Word Use ◽

Reminiscence Therapy ◽

Treatment Conditions ◽

Multiple Dimensions ◽

Group Reminiscence ◽

External Stimuli

BACKGROUND Characterising older adult engagement is important to determine the effectiveness of interventions. Engagement is the occupying of oneself in external stimuli and is observable across multiple dimensions of behaviour. Engagement of older adults is commonly investigated on a single behavioural dimension. OBJECTIVE In this article, we present a multidisciplinary approach for measuring and characterising engagement of older adults using techniques appropriate for people with varying degrees of dementia. METHODS Contexts for engagement included a dyadic reminiscence therapy interview and a 12-week technology driven group reminiscence therapy. Participants were older adults (8 female, 1 male, mean age: 79) who attended a day respite facility. Audio-visual recordings of the sessions were processed to analyse facial movement, lexical use, and prosodic patterns of speech. Facial movement was processed using OpenFace to measure the presence and intensity of facial movement. Lexical use was processed using the Linguistic Enquiry and Word Count to measure personal pronoun use, affective word use, and emotional tone of words in speech. Prosodic patterns of speech were processed using custom scripts written in Praat and Python, to measure mean duration of utterances, mean words per utterance, articulation rate and variability of F0. Mixed-effects modelling was used to assess effects of treatment conditions on dependent variable outcomes. RESULTS Results indicate measuring engagement through a multidimensional approach can sensitively capture older adults’ engagement. CONCLUSIONS Application of this method can enhance a researcher’s ability to measure older adult engagement, provide means to compare across interventions and contextual environments, and further develop the science of psychosocial intervention research.

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Intergenerational Solidarity and Life Satisfaction among Empty-nest Older Adults in Rural China: Does Distance Matter?

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x20926216 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 0192513X2092621

Author(s):

Mengting Li ◽

Yaling Luo ◽

Penghui Li

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Social Services ◽

Satisfaction With Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Migrant Children ◽

Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽

Geographical Proximity ◽

Intergenerational Solidarity ◽

Contact Frequency

Intergenerational solidarity plays a significant role in older adults’ psychological well-being, but it remains unclear whether the influence would vary by distance. This study aims to examine the moderating role of geographical proximity between intergenerational solidarity and life satisfaction. We interviewed 1,015 rural older adults in Sichuan, China. Life satisfaction was measured by Satisfaction with Life Scale. Five of the six dimensions of intergenerational solidarity were assessed: structural (geographical proximity), associational (contact frequency), functional (support exchange), affectual (emotional closeness), and normative (filial obligation). Multiple regression with interaction term was used. We found the effect of intergenerational solidarity (except associational solidarity) on life satisfaction was strongest for older adults with children living in the same city. Gender differences existed in the moderating effect of parent–child distance on the relationship between intergenerational solidarity and life satisfaction. Social services could focus on older adults with interprovincial migrant children and protect their well-being.

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Who We Live With and How We Are Feeling: A Study of Household Living Arrangements and Subjective Well-Being Among Older Adults in China

Research on Aging ◽

10.1177/0164027520961547 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 016402752096154

Author(s):

Wen-Jui Han ◽

Ying Li ◽

Cliff Whetung

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Living Arrangements ◽

Well Being ◽

Adult Health ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

And Control ◽

The Relationship

Using a sample of Chinese adults over the age of 50 from wave 1 of the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (n = 13,367), we investigated the relationship between living arrangements and subjective well-being (SWB) in regard to life satisfaction, happiness, and control. We also looked at the moderating role of resources, proxied by income and hukou status. Multivariate regression results indicate that living only with a spouse was significantly associated with better SWB. Multigenerational living arrangements may not always promote SWB, particularly when resources are constrained. Yet, results also underscore the importance of daughters and daughters-in-law in promoting SWB among older adults. Older adults in rural areas had better SWB, including greater life satisfaction if living with grandchildren only, compared to their urban peers living with a spouse only. Findings suggest that context matters in the association between living arrangements and older adults’ SWB.

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Sources of well-being for older adults with and without dementia in residential care: relations to presence of meaning and life satisfaction

Aging & Mental Health ◽

10.1080/13607863.2019.1691144 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 170-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Laura Dewitte ◽

Mathieu Vandenbulcke ◽

Tine Schellekens ◽

Jessie Dezutter

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Residential Care ◽

Well Being ◽

Presence Of Meaning

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Impact of Savoring Ability on the Relationship Between Older Adults’ Activity Engagement and Well-Being

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/0733464819871876 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 39 (3) ◽

pp. 323-331 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer L. Smith ◽

Joseph G. Bihary ◽

Dugan O’Connor ◽

Ajla Basic ◽

Catherine J. O’Brien

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Skills Training ◽

Well Being ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Activity Engagement ◽

Moderating Factors ◽

Regulation Strategies ◽

Positive Feelings ◽

The Relationship

The relationship between activity engagement and well-being can vary based on individual characteristics, and it is important to identify moderating factors to support the development and implementation of aging services. The current study examined whether the relationship between activity engagement and well-being depends on older adults’ savoring ability, that is, the ability to attend to positive experiences and to engage in emotion regulation strategies to enhance positive feelings during those experiences. A total of 5,128 older adults ( Mage = 83.86 years) completed measures of activity engagement, savoring, and well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, depression, loneliness, purpose, and health). Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that activity engagement and savoring independently predicted better functioning across all well-being measures. However, savoring moderated the relationship between activity engagement and four well-being measures (life satisfaction, depression, loneliness, and purpose). Findings suggest that older adults with low activity engagement may particularly benefit from savoring-skills training to enhance their psychological well-being.

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The Benefits of Savoring Life

The International Journal of Aging and Human Development ◽

10.1177/0091415016669146 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 84 (1) ◽

pp. 3-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Jennifer L. Smith ◽

Fred B. Bryant

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Physical Health ◽

Social Functioning ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Positive Interventions ◽

Reported Health ◽

The Relationship ◽

Lower Life Satisfaction

We investigated the protective impact of savoring capacity on the relationship between physical health and psychological well-being among older adults. A total of 266 adults over 55 years old ( Mean = 73.4 years) completed measures of savoring ability, self-reported health, and life satisfaction. Savoring ability moderated the relationship between health and life satisfaction in older adults. Among people with less savoring ability, poor health was associated with lower life satisfaction. In contrast, people with greater savoring ability maintained higher life satisfaction, regardless of their level of health. These effects were consistent across a variety of different aspects of health, including general health, pain, limitations due to physical health, energy, and social functioning. These findings have direct implications for developing positive interventions to support the psychological well-being of older adults.

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