JOURNAL OF AGING PSYCHOLOGY
Year:2016 | Volume:2 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:7

Due to age and ability decline, the elderly should be protected and supported. Also, special attention should be paid to their happiness and hope. This study aimed to determine the relationship between happiness, specific domain of hope and the amount of using urban spaces among the elderly. A total number of 100 elderly divided into two groups of 50 "frequent user" and "non-user" of parks and public spaces in Bojnord city were selected in a two-stage cluster sampling. Participants filled out Oxford Happiness questionnaire and The Domain Specific Hope Scale (Sympson, 1999). The design of the study was descriptive and correlation. In order to analyze the data, descriptive statistics and discriminant analysis were used in simultaneous procedures. Results showed that variables of happiness and hope are able to distinguish groups of "frequent user" and "non-user”of urban spaces and diagnostic function categorized 93% of the sample successfully. According to the Wilks' Lambda testing, the maximum difference between two groups is related to hope in family relationship, relationship with friends, and leisure. Also, minimum difference is related to rate of happiness. Thus, the use of urban spaces by the elderly can promote the hope and happiness of them.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness on dysfunctional attitudes and depression symptoms in elderly patients suffering from major depression disorder. The design of this study was quasi experimental, pretest-posttest control group. The subjects of the study included all elderly women suffering from major depression in Qazvin during the year 2016. By using convenience sampling method, 70 of them were selected. Finally, according to the inclusion criteria, 30 patients (elderly women) were selected and divided into a control and an experimental group. Patients in both groups received drug therapy prescribed by a psychiatrist. Also eight group sessions of mindfulness were organized for the experimental group. After the intervention in both groups, the post-test was performed, followed up after one month. Using statistical method of multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) the data was analyzed and the results showed that mindfulness was not effective on reducing dysfunctional attitudes. However, it was effective on reducing depression symptoms.

Attention and concentration on loneliness predictor variables in the elderly are initial steps for successful treatment of loneliness feeling and decreasing its serious consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of communication skills, social support and functional disability in predicting loneliness of the elderly. It was a descriptive study and the method was correlation. The statistical population of this study considered all the elderly of Tehran in 2016. In this study, 400 elderly who lived at home were selected by random cluster sampling from different areas of Tehran. The revised UCLA loneliness scale, Revised Communication Skills Test (Queendom, 2004), Winefield's multidimensional support scale (Winefield, Winefield, & Tiggemann, 1992), and The Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ 8-item DI) were used to collect information. In order to analyze obtained data, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and stepwise multivariate regression analyses were employed. Statistical results indicated the significant negative correlations between communication skills and social support with loneliness and a significant positive correlation between functional disability with loneliness. Multivariate regression analysis showed that 48 percent of the variance in loneliness feeling of the elderly is explained by the communication skills, social support and disability. The results showed that communication skills, social support and functional disability have a significant role in predicting loneliness of the elderly. The results of this study has significant implications about the importance of these variables in the loneliness of the elderly.

Meaning in lives of the elderly is intricately intertwined with the well-being and has an effective role in their ability to cope with stress and challenges. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of group logotherapy on the increase of psychological well-being of the elderly retired women. The design of the research was semi-experimental and it considered pretest and posttest with control group. The subjects were all the elderly retired women who were registered as the members of the Retired Association in Yasouj. The sample included forty persons who were randomly selected among the volunteers of participating in this study whose scores were one standard deviation lower than the mean. They were divided into two groups: The control group and the experimental group. The experimental group received group logotherapy for ten sessions (each session ninety minutes and once a week). After utilizing the interaction, posttests were given to both groups. In order to collect the data Psychological Well-being Scale (Ryff, 1989) and treatment protocol based on logotherapy were used. The data analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results showed that the group logotherapy increased the psychological well-being of the experimental group in comparison with the control group. The findings of this study has potentially important implications for professionals and therapists in order to gain their attention to help the elderly women by using logotherapy.

Aging usually has positive and negative aspects. Due to some problems in the cultural, economic, social and psychological aspects, negative dimensions can be magnified, leaving negative effects on psychological and physical aspects of the elderly. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness training based on acceptance and commitment on body consciousness and emotional expression of the elderly. The design of this study was quasi experimental, pretest-posttest control group. Thirty elderly women of Behzisti institution of Behshahr city were selected by convenience sampling and randomly allocated in two groups of 15 (experimental and control). Participants filled out the Emotional Expressiveness Questionnaire (EEQ; King & Emmons, 1990) and The Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (McKinley& Hyde, 1996). The experimental group received training for 8 sessions of 60-minute by the Flaxman protocol. Data were analyzed by analysis of covariance and SPSS version 20 software.. Results suggested that the experimental group compared with the control group have improved on body consciousness and emotional expression in posttest (p<0.05). So, mindfulness training based on acceptance and commitment was effective on increasing body awareness and emotional expression among the elderly of Behshar. Using this method is recommended as an effective intervention for the elderly.

Due to the rapid growth of the elderly population in the 21st century, especially in developing countries, paying attention to the physical and psychological needs of the elderly is essential. This study aimed to compare death anxiety and loneliness among the elderly with optimistic and pessimistic life orientation. The method of this study was descriptive and a causal-comparative research. Thus, the two groups of elderly with optimistic and pessimistic Life orientation were compared according to death anxiety and loneliness. All the elderly population (6041 people) from retirement center of Iranian national airline (Homa) in Tehran were chosen and examined in 1395. To collect the data, Templar’s Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), Loneliness questionnaire (UCLA) and Life Orientation examination (LOT-R) were used. In order to analyze the data, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used. Analysis of the data showed that death anxiety and loneliness in the elderly with optimistic and pessimistic Life Orientation has a significant difference (P<0.05). Thus, according to the results, the elderly with pessimistic life orientation has the higher level of death anxiety. Also Life orientation has a significant relationship with loneliness and the grades of loneliness among the elderly with pessimistic orientation is significantly higher than those with optimistic life orientation.

Mindfulness is defined as receptive attention and awareness of the experiences at present time. Along with mindfulness, spiritual resources are also among the patients' inner powers that play a crucial role in the integrity or completeness of their body and mind. This research aimed to compare the effectiveness of mindfulness and spiritual/religious coping skills on death anxiety and blood pressure of the elderly with hypertension. The design of this study was quasi experimental, pretest-posttest control group. The subjects of the study included all the elderly with hypertension in a nursing home of Behshahr city in 2015. By using convenience sampling method, 30 individuals were selected and randomly assigned to three groups (each group with 15 person). The experimental groups took lessons on mindfulness and spiritual/religious coping skills in 8 sessions of 70 minutes. The death anxiety and blood pressure of the groups were measured during pretest and posttest. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) method. The findings showed mindfulness and spiritual/religious coping skills significantly led to decrease in death anxiety and blood pressure of the elderly with hypertension. Also, the spiritual/religious coping skills method was more effective than mindfulness method on decreasing blood pressure of the elderly with hypertension, but there is no significant difference between two methods in decreasing death anxiety of the elderly with hypertension (P<0.05). The results suggest that counselors and therapists may use spiritual/religious coping skills and in the second place, mindfulness methods to improve health condition of the elderly with hypertension.