scholarly journals Reminiscence groupwork and autobiographical memory as part of meaningful activities

Groupwork ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-87
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Allen ◽  
Mary Lee Tully ◽  
Desmond O’Neill ◽  
Richard A.P. Roche
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Memory Recall ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Group Activities ◽  
The Past ◽  
With Memory

The current paper describes a reminiscence group activity session held as part of meaningful activities engagement for older adults. Topics of reminiscence included both autobiographical memories and memories of broader historical events from the past. Participants included those with memory impairment and those without, and participants with healthy memory were helpful in prompting memories in participants with memory impairment. Semantic and episodic autobiographical memory were assessed at baseline and following the end of both group activities, using the Episodic Autobiographical Memory Interview (EAMI) and quality of life was assessed using the Quality of Life AD-scale (QOL-AD). The reminiscence intervention did not significantly affect autobiographical memory recall or quality of life. However, oral reminiscence was reported to have increased outside of the reminiscence sessions.

Intergenerational Montessori Program for Adults With Memory Concerns

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Michelle Bourgeois ◽  
Jennifer Brush
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
After School ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
After School Program ◽  
Memory Concerns ◽  
Neutral Affect ◽  
With Memory

Purpose This study evaluated the effects of an intergenerational Montessori after-school program on the engagement, affect, and quality of life of older adults with memory concerns and on the attitudes of children toward older adults. Method Eleven older adults were paired with 11 children to participate in a 45-min after-school activity program. Observations of engagement and affect during the interactions were collected 3 times a week for 4 weeks. The older adults' engagement and affect also were observed during 45-min planning/discussion sessions without the children present before their arrival to the program. Results Results revealed significant differences in older adults' engagement and positive affect when the children were present. Significant pre–post improvements in reported quality of life and maintenance of cognitive status were associated with program participation. Children demonstrated more active than passive engagement and more happy than neutral affect during activity sessions. Four of the seven children improved their positive ratings of older adults. Conclusions This program documented success in improving engagement and affect in older adults with mild memory concerns while engaging with children. Future studies with a larger sample of participants with varying degrees of memory impairment are needed to investigate the potential of this promising program.

scholarly journals Relevance of Quality of Life Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis Patients with Memory Impairment

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. e50056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Baumstarck ◽  
Françoise Reuter ◽  
Mohamed Boucekine ◽  
Valérie Aghababian ◽  
Irina Klemina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Life Assessment ◽  
Quality Of Life Assessment ◽  
Multiple Sclerosis Patients ◽  
With Memory

scholarly journals Links between autobiographical memory richness and temporal discounting in older adults

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina M. Lempert ◽  
Kameron A. MacNear ◽  
David A. Wolk ◽  
Joseph W. Kable
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Temporal Discounting ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Making Choices ◽  
Future Outcomes ◽  
With Memory

AbstractWhen making choices between smaller, sooner rewards and larger, later ones, people tend to discount or devalue future outcomes. This propensity can be maladaptive, especially as individuals age and their decisions about health, investments, and relationships become increasingly consequential. Individual differences in temporal discounting in older adults have been associated with episodic memory abilities, as well as with cortical thickness in the entorhinal cortex. The mechanism by which better memory might lead to more future-oriented choice remains unclear, however. Here we used a fine-grained measure of autobiographical memory richness (Autobiographical Interview scoring protocol) to examine which categories of episodic details are associated with temporal discounting in cognitively normal older adults. We also examined whether recalling autobiographical memories prior to choice can alter temporal discounting in this group. Time, place, and perceptual details, but not event or emotion/thought details, were associated with temporal discounting. Furthermore, time, place, and perceptual details and temporal discount rates were associated with entorhinal cortical thickness. Retrieving autobiographical memories prior to choice did not affect temporal discounting overall, but the extent to which the memories were rich in event and time details predicted whether they would reduce discounting after they were recalled. Thus, more future-oriented decision-makers may have more contextual (i.e., time, place, and perceptual) details in their recollections overall, and retrieving central event details at the time of choice may shift decisions toward being more patient. These findings will help with the development of interventions to nudge intertemporal choices, especially in older adults with memory decline.

scholarly journals Autobiographical Memory, Gratitude, Forgiveness and Sense of Humor: An Intervention in Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Chamorro-Garrido ◽  
Encarnación Ramírez-Fernández ◽  
Ana Raquel Ortega-Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Emotional Disorders ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Improve Quality ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Sense Of Humor

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.

scholarly journals Contextualizing Autobiographical Remembering: An Expanded View of Memory

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Brown ◽  
Paula Reavey
Keyword(s):  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Autobiographical Memories ◽  
The Past ◽  
Modern View ◽  
With Memory

Contemporary reformulations of the nature of “the psychological” call out for different approaches to autobiographical memory. If epistemic and methodological differences are set aside, debate can be focused on four key themes—function, accessibility, accuracy, and life story. What persons do with memory needs to be indexed to the interactional contexts where the past is invoked, where the accessibility of autobiographical memories is a collaborative accomplishment. While the accuracy of memory is nearly always at issue, the criterion and procedures through which it is established vary across practices, as do capacities to produce biographical coherency. An “expanded” or “modern” view of memory should seek to analyze brains, voices, objects, and settings together.

Exercise Capacity in Chronic Heart Failure

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina G Mentzer ◽  
Alex J Auseon
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Heart Failure ◽  
Exercise Training ◽  
Exercise Capacity ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Pharmacologic Therapy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Diagnosis And Prognosis ◽  
Future Therapy

Heart failure (HF) affects more than 5 million people and has an increasing incidence and cost burden. Patients note symptoms of dyspnea and fatigue that result in a decreased quality of life, which has not drastically improved over the past decades despite advances in therapies. The assessment of exercise capacity can provide information regarding patient diagnosis and prognosis, while doubling as a potential future therapy. clinically, there is acceptance that exercise is safe in hf and can have a positive impact on morbidity and quality of life, although evidence for improvement in mortality is still lacking. specific prescriptions for exercise training have not been developed because many variables and confounding factors have prevented research trials from demonstrating an ideal regimen. Physicians are becoming more aware of the indices and goals for hf patients in exercise testing and therapy to provide comprehensive cardiac care. it is further postulated that a combination of exercise training and pharmacologic therapy may eventually provide the most benefits to those suffering from hf.

Fear of memory decline predicts lower quality of life and increased memory failures in older adults: Preliminary findings from a novel fear-avoidance of memory decline scale.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Farina ◽  
Marc Patrick Bennett ◽  
James William Griffith ◽  
Bert Lenaert
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Fear Avoidance ◽  
Subjective Memory ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Quality Of Life Scale ◽  
The Impact

Evidence concerning the impact of fear of memory decline on health-related outcomes is limited. To determine the relationship between fear-avoidance of memory decline, quality of life and subjective memory in older adults using a novel scale to measure fear of memory decline. Sixty-seven older adults (59-81 years) completed a 23-item self-report questionnaire designed to capture experiential, cognitive and behavioral components of fear of memory decline, known as the fear and avoidance of memory decline (FAM) scale. Memory performance was assessed using the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV) and the Memory Failures Scale (MFS). General anxiety was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI). Quality of life was assessed using the Older Person’s Quality of Life scale (OPQOL-35). The FAM scale demonstrated good reliability and validity. Three latent factors were observed including: (1) fear-avoidance, (2) problematic beliefs and (3) resilience. After adjusting for age, education, memory performance and general anxiety, higher fear-avoidance predicted lower quality of life (p=.021) and increased memory failures (p=.022). Increased fear of memory decline predicts lower quality of life and subjective memory failures in healthy older adults. Based on these findings, we propose a preliminary fear-avoidance model that explains the development and maintenance of dementia-related functional disability in terms of psychological processes.

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