The Effect of Life Review Reminiscence Activities on Depression and Self-Esteem in Older Adults

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of life review reminiscence activities on reported depression and self-esteem. The study used a pretest-posttest experimental design in which 24 well older adults living in a retirement community were randomly assigned to experimental and comparison groups. The experimental group participated in six life review sessions, after which all subjects were readministered the Beck Depression Inventory and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Survey. An analysis of covariance indicated that life review reminiscence activities did not significantly affect depression and self-esteem. These findings imply that participation in life review activities did not negatively affect this sample of well older adults and that life review reminiscence is a worthwhile activity for this age group.

The effects of reminiscence on depressive symptoms and mood status of older institutionalized adults in Taiwan

“…The findings showed significant improvement in depression, as measured by selfreport and observer ratings. These findings are consistent with other findings supporting the use of reminiscence to reduce the self-reported depressive symptoms and boost mood status of subjects (Fry, 1983;Stevens-Ratchford, 1992;Arean et al, 1993;Cully et al, 2001). Fry (1983) firmed that reminiscence training reduces self-reporting of depression by subjects and boosts feelings of self-confidence and personal adequacy.…”

Home-based health promotion for chronically ill older persons: results of a randomized controlled trial of a critical reflection approach

“…On the 10-item scale, scores range from 1 to 4 for each item, creating a potential total score of 10-40, with high scores indicating high self-esteem. The scale has been used in studies of the elderly's experience of successful aging (Shimoaka et al, 1996); and the impact of reminiscence activities on self-esteem (Lappe, 1987;Stevens-Ratchford, 1992). It has a reported reproducibility coefficient of 0.92, a test-retest correlation of 0.85 and Cronbach's alpha of 0.74, and validity test correlations ranging from 0.65 to 0.83 (Mangen and Peterson, 1982).…”

Creative reminiscence as an early intervention for depression: Results of a pilot project

“…Since then, reminiscence has been actively used in group-work and therapy with the elderly. It has been used with different goals, including the stimulation of cognitive functioning in older people with dementia (Goldwasser, Auerbach & Harkins, 1987); and improving life satisfaction, quality of life and meaning in life (Cook, 1992;Haight, 1992), and as a method for early intervention among elderly with depressive symptoms or major depression (Fry, 1983;Stevens-Ratchford, 1992;Watt & Cappeliez, 2000). Examples of formats for reminiscence are lifereview (Haight, 1988), integrative reminiscence therapy (Watt & Cappeliez, 2000) and guided autobiography (Birren & Deutchman, 1991;Birren & Birren, 1996).…”