JOURNAL OF AGING PSYCHOLOGY
Year:2020 | Volume:6 | Issue:3|Papers Count:4

Elderly seems to be one of the challenging periods of life due to a decrease of physical and psychological functions and the elderly with nonclinical depression face many problems including an increase of depression and a decrease of health and life expectancy. Therefore, the current research aimed to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment based therapy on depression, psychological health and life expectancy of the elderly with nonclinical depression. This study was a quasi-experimental with pretest and posttest with control group design. The research population included all the elderly with non-clinical depression referring to the psychological service centers and clinics in Ahvaz, Iran in the spring of 2020. The sample included 50 people selected according to including and excluding criteria, using purposive sampling method and were randomly assigned into two equal groups. The experimental group received 10 sessions of 90 minutes acceptance and commitment therapy and the control group was in a waiting list for training. The research tools were the geriatric depression scale (Yasavage & Sheikh), psychological health scale (Najjarian & Davodi) and life expectancy scale (Snyder et. al. ). Data were analyzed using ANCOVA in SPSS-19. The findings indicated that the experimental group was significantly different in terms of all three variables of depression, psychological health and life expectancy. In the other words, acceptance and commitment therapy led to a reduction in depression and an improvement of psychological health and life expectancy in the elderly with nonclinical depression (P<0. 05). According to the results of the present study, therapists and health professionals can take advantages of acceptance and commitment therapy in health-related interventions, especially to reduce depression and improve psychological health and life expectancy.

Retirement is one of the important events in the elderly that can affect the one’, s quality of life. Consequently, The aim of the current study was to investigate the role of personality traits, coping strategies and religious attitudes in predicting quality of life in retireds. The study was of descriptive-correlational type. The statistical population included all the retireds of Nahavand, Iran among whom 200 were selected through random sampling. Study tools consisted of NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), Religious Attitude Scale (RAS) and WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL-26). Data were analyzed through Pearson’, s correlation coefficient and enter multiple regression. The results indicated that there were relationship between Big Five personality traits (except for openness) and quality of life as such, neuroticism had a negative significant correlation with quality of life and extraversion, and agreeableness and conscientiousness had positive significant correlation with quality of life. There was no significant relationship between religious attitudes and quality of life. The problem focused coping strategy had a positive significant, the emotional focused coping strategy had a negative insignificant, and the avoidance coping strategy had a positive medium relationship (0. 30, p<0. 01) with the quality of life. The results of multiple regression also showed that personality traits, coping strategies and religious attitudes could predict 43% of variance of the quality of life. Based on the aforemebtioned results, it could be said that the improvement of the quality of life are impressed by personality traits and coping strategies that people apply when they encounter stress.

Elderly seems to be one of the most important stages of individuals’,life. Considering the growing number of elderly population, it appears necessary to have didactic and therapeutic interventions that affect their psychological well-being significantly and increase their life expectancy. Therefore, this research aimed to determine the effectiveness of gestalt therapy on depression, self-differentiation, integrative self-knowledge and positive psychological characteristics of the elderly in Isfahan. Iran. It was a semiexperimental study with pretest-posttest and a follow-up along with control group design. The statistical papulation included all the elderly above 60-year old living in Isfahan. Two centers were selected among education retirees organization using convenience sampling and then, 40 elderly people were recruited purposefully according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and assigned randomly into two groups of experimental and control with equal numbers in each group (20 members). The experimental group underwent gestalt therapy for 11 90-minute sessions, while the control group received no intervention during this period. Used to collect data were scales of elderly depression (Yesavage et al. ), self-differentiation (Skowron & friedlander), integrative self-knowledge (Gorbani et al. ) and positive psychological characteristics (Rashid). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS-23. The results of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) demonstrated that gestalt therapy results in improvement of depression, self-differentiation, integrative self-knowledge and positive psychological characteristics in the elderly (P<0. 05). According to the findings of this research, gestalt therapy can be applied as an efficient pattern in counselling and psychotherapy centers to decrease depression and to improve self-differentiation, integrative selfknowledge and positive psychological characteristics for the elderly.

The elderly are exposed to psychological and social harms due to various physical, occupational, and social limitations and the symptoms of depression are common during this period that can increase their vulnerability. Consequently, The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy and emotion efficacy therapy on the level of depression and self-care ability in nonclinical depressed elderly. The design of the present study was quasiexperimental with pretest-posttest and control group. The statistical population included all the elderly with depressive symptoms who were members of Jahangidegan House of Sari, Iran in 2019, Among whom, 45 were selected using purposive sampling method as well as inclusion criteria and assigned randomly into two experimental and one control group (15 people in each group). The experimental groups underwent eight 90-minute metacognitive therapy and emotion efficacy therapy. Data collection tools included Geriatric Depression Scale (Yesavage et al. ) and the Elderly Self-Care Questionnaire (Hemati maslak pak & Hashemloo). Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance in SPSS-21 software. The results showed that metacognitive therapy and emotion efficacy therapy are effective in improving depressive symptoms and self-care ability of non-clinical depressed elderly (P <0. 05), but there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of these two treatments. According to the results of this study, metacognitive therapy and emotion efficacy therapy can be effective interventions in improving depressive symptoms and strengthening self-care ability in the depressed elderly.