It makes you keep trying: Life review writing for older adults

Robinson, Julia T.; Murphy-Nugen, Amy B.

doi:10.1080/01634372.2018.1427645

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Older persons with ageist identity usually have not developed their own identity in their lives; they are not committed to social values and are convinced that it is impossible or too late to make any essential transformation. These persons can feel a strong wish to rewrite the past or change the direction of their life, but at the same time they realize they do not know how to do it (Robinson & Murphy-Nugen, 2018).…”

Section: Life Stories: Experiential Methodologies To Confront Ageism mentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational Models against ageism in higher education

Requena

Merino

Carmona

2018

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'18)

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There have allways been old persons, but their number has unprecedentedly grown and it is expected to overtake any other age group in contemporary developed societies. Instead of taking this process as a success of mankind, ageism grows on a par with ageing. It is well documented how standard educational models fail to correct implicit ageistic stereotypes, thus new emerging theoretical models such as generational intelligence and identity in old age put forward experiential methodologies designed to educate both explicit and implicit ageistic stereotypes. Both theoretical models incorporate the subjective first-person perspective on ageing, which complements the standard university curriculum for ageing-related professsionals in health, social or educational sectors. The practical implementation of these educational models involve experiential methodologies such as life stories. A crucial educational element in the practical success of this methodology lies in understanding intergenerational education not only as a gathering of generations, but as the intentional production and evaluation of educational ends. The paper exemplifies these methodologies and contrasts their success in dealing with the complexities involved in educating against explicit and implicit agesitic stereotypes in intergenerational relations. Therefore, the key to intergenerationality lies less in its "generational" element as in its "inter" element.

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Section: Life Stories: Experiential Methodologies To Confront Ageism mentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational Models against ageism in higher education

Requena

Merino

Carmona

2018

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'18)

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“…Considering that personal stories reveal something about the storytellers, it is expected that these stories can be instruments to share a legacy. In their research, Robinson and Murphy-Nugen (2018) 1 analyzed the transcripts from interviews of seven older adults about their experience in a life review-writing group and found legacy as one of the strongest of their seven major emergent themes. Hunter (2007Hunter ( -2008 2 defines legacy as a way of "leaving something behind after death and making meaning" of life's end (p. 313).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Robinson and Murphy-Nugen (2018) 1 found that older adult perceived legacy as a gift from them to younger generations and wished that they could have had such a legacy from their own older generations. Older adults also assume legacy to be a means of getting recognition of 'selfworth' (Robinson & Murphy-Nugen, 2018, p. 179) 1 . The emotional and social values associated with legacy are its most critical aspects because these are passed on to the present and future generations (Hunter, 2007(Hunter, -2008 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing Stories as Legacy: What Matters to Older Adults?

2020

IJOAR

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Objectives: Legacy allows individuals to make meaning of their lives by passing on their experiences and beliefs to younger people and influencing their perspectives, perceptions, and actions. This mixed-methods study investigated: (1) What is important for older adults to share as legacy with families, friends and others, based on the types and features of their digital stories ? and (2) How do older adults' digital stories affect story viewers? Methods: One hundred adults aged between 55 and 95 years participated in ten-week Elder's Digital Storytelling courses and created short digital stories. Using the content analysis approach, the story transcripts were thematically analyzed and iteratively coded by three researchers and the results were quantified. A diverse group of 60 viewers at a public event provided their reactions to the digital stories. Results: The findings revealed that character, place, and family were chosen as the primary types by the older adults for their legacy digital stories. Accomplishment and career/school were the next most prominent story types. Moreover, these digital stories appeared to have a powerful impact on the viewers. Discussion: A digital story is a powerful artifact to communicate an older person's legacy because it is based on familiar forms of communication, such as speech and photographs. The major legacy themes chosen by the older adults align with the findings of the research literature. The feedback from the viewers of the digital stories reflects these as a source of life wisdom and legacy for younger generations.

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“…One modality that has received recent attention involves writing groups that encourage a form of reminiscing followed by group sharing (Robinson & Murphy‐Nugen, 2018). Sometimes referred to as guided autobiography (Birren & Cochran, 2001; Birren & Deutchman, 1991), the premise is the same as with group reminiscence therapy, where reflecting on past events can provide emotional relief (Elford et al, 2005) as well as a social benefit from sharing and connecting with fellow group members (Robinson & Murphy‐Nugen, 2018). Used across a range of disciplines (Wright & Chung, 2001), some authors even argue for an intrinsic therapeutic benefit of writing, with or without reminiscing or socialising (Birren & Cochran, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing life review writing with active control groups: Results of a feasibility study

Schelly

Ohl

Moronta

et al. 2020

Aus Occup Therapy J

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Introduction: Life review writing can be used to improve depressive symptoms in well older adults, but it is unclear whether the reminiscing, writing, or socialising is associated with the improvements. This study assessed the feasibility of a controlled trial comparing life review writing with two active control groups designed to isolate the acts of (a) engaging in a meaningful leisure activity and (b) socialising. Methods: Twenty-four participants from a 100-bed assisted living facility were enrolled in the study. Participants ranged in age from 70 to 98 years (M = 83.9, SD = 7.6). Eight 1-hour weekly sessions were held, with participants assigned to one of three groups: (a) life review writing, (b) painting, or (c) coffee from around the world. At baseline, participants completed a demographic and health questionnaire, the Mini-Cog, and the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-15). The GDS-15 was administered again at weeks 4 and 8, along with the health questionnaire at post-test. Results: Nearly 25% (N = 24) of the facility's residents attended at least one session, with an average attendance rate of 66.4%, or 5.3 sessions. However, to achieve this participation rate, our original plan to employ random assignment had to be abandoned. The groups were a partial success insofar as we successfully isolated engaging in a meaningful activity in the painting group, but the writing group engaged in less reminiscing than hoped. At post-test, seven participants reported health, mood, and social life benefits. GDS-15 scores fluctuated over time, with no significant improvement from pre-to post-test. Conclusion: The residents' low willingness to be randomised creates a serious selection bias, but randomising volunteers into different activities runs counter to clientcentred therapy. To scrutinise the mechanisms of change of life review writing, we recommend comparing two writing groups: one that reminisces and one that does not. K E Y W O R D S ageing/gerontology, depression, occupational therapy, research design 1 | INTRODUCTION While reminiscing about one's life may at times be connected to worsening depression in older adults, decades of research has shown that this natural process can also be used therapeutically to stave off or even treat depression. Several meta-analyses show that reminiscence therapies, involving a range of modalities, reduce depressive symptoms with medium to large effect sizes

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It makes you keep trying: Life review writing for older adults

Cited by 12 publications

References 36 publications

Educational Models against ageism in higher education

Educational Models against ageism in higher education

Sharing Stories as Legacy: What Matters to Older Adults?

Comparing life review writing with active control groups: Results of a feasibility study

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