JOURNAL OF AGING PSYCHOLOGY
Year:2015 | Volume:1 | Issue:3|Papers Count:7

the elderly population has been steadily increasing. The discussion about aging and ways of reducing problems which were exposed in this period is one of the most common issues in modern societies. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate effectiveness of group reminiscence on happiness and life expectancy of elderly in Tehran city. This research was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest and control group. The study population consisted all of people 60 years old in Tehran. Sample of 30 eligible elderly was selected by convenience sampling method and were assigned randomly in 2 groups of 15 individuals. Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and Miller's life expectancy were used to collect data. Then group reminiscence therapy was administered on experimental group in 8 sessions and finally posttest was taken from experimental and control groups. Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Levin and Covariance were used to analyze data. The findings suggested that group reminiscence therapy can increase happiness and life expectancy of elderly in experimental group (P>0.05). According to this study's results, it is recommended that health system officials take step towards increasing happiness and life expectancy of elderly by introducing and training reminiscence to families, counselors and social workers in elderly care centers

wisdom is a complex concept that has not been offered the unified definition. However, there is a general agreement among experts that wisdom includes knowledge, insight, reflection, and a combination of individual’s interests with others’ interests and welfare. Wisdom is associated with older age. Elderly people (old people) experience different events of life in different ways, so that in dealing with life matters they can provide appropriate solutions. Therefore, by investigating the concept of wisdom from the perspective of the elderly, this study analyzes and interprets wisdom and its features.The research methodology was qualitative and the instrument used was a structured interview. The interviews conducted on 37 elderly people in Hamedan Province (age range between 60 to 81) were recorded and transcribed. The interview texts were analyzed using content analysis.The results indicated that the most important feature of wise historical figures is “serve”, and an important factor effective in their being wise included God’s grace and good family training. The results also revealed that the concept of wisdom can be presented in 4 different forms (Religion, sympathy/support, cognition/ knowledge and personality), accordingly, the results show the spiritual and psychological/social aspects of wisdom in old age.

the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on stress reduction in elderly men afflicted by heart diseases. The method was quasi experimental pretest– posttest design with control group. For this aim, 50 men of the patients in Qazvin were chosen by Judgmental Sampling Method, and assigned in two groups (25 in experiment group and 25 in control group). acceptance and commitment therapy was administered to the experiment group in eight 90 minutes sessions in 2 months period.Two groups completed Cohan perceived stress questionnaires (1983) before and after treatment and in follow-up period after 1 month. Results of MANCOVA test showed that acceptance and commitment therapy have significant effect on perceived stress and it decreases negative perceived and increases positive perceived stress scores. These results except positive perception remained in follow-up period, but the two groups had no significant differences in positive perceived stress in follow-up period. As a result, acceptance and commitment therapy can increase positive perceived stress and reduce negative perceived stress in elderly men afflicted by heart diseases.

aging is not a disease, but a personal-social experience and one of the crucial stages of human development, which is considered as a natural process of life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of life review on social adjustment of retired men. The population included retired teachers men referred to retirement center in Kermanshah city. All individuals were selected and after completing the Bell Adjustment Questionnaire, 30 people who had the least amount of adjustment, were randomly assigned to experimental (15 persons) and control groups (15 persons). The experimental group exposed to six 90-minute sessions Haight and Webster's life review program. Ultimately, posttest was performed on both groups. After scoring the questionnaire, the data were analyzed using analysis of covariance. The results of covariance test showed that there are differences between adjusted mean of social adjustment in groups in posttest by removing the impact of pretest scores. It can be concluded that life review, are effective in increasing social adjustment. This treatment gives a better result compared to traditional treatments. This method is recommended in elderly care centers.

the purpose of this research is to compare creativity, positive affection and psychological well-being in adolescents and the elderly. It is a casual-comparative conducted on adolescents (n=100) and the elderly (n=100) which constituted the participants. For the purpose of sampling in adolescents, the multistage cluster sampling was used and for sampling in the elderly, the available sampling method was utilized. The participants filled in positive affection scale by Watson, creativity scale and psychological well-being by Ryff. The findings were analyzed by multivariate variance analysis and independent t-test. The results indicated a significant difference between adolescents and the elderly in terms of creativity, positive affection and psychological wellbeing (p<0.005). That is, adolescents had higher mean creativity and lower positive affection and psychological wellbeing compared to the elderly. Also, the result did not show a significant difference between mean creativity and psychological wellbeing of male and female adolescents (p<0.005), though there was a significant difference in terms of positive affection with female participants scoring higher in this regard (p<0.001). Moreover, the results did not reveal any significant difference between positive affection and psychological wellbeing of the male and female elderly. According to the results, it can be concluded that adolescents had higher mean creativity and yet lower positive affection and psychological wellbeing compared to the elderly. Also, it appeared that gender did not affect the variables under study, though positive affection in female adolescents was higher than their male counterparts Thus, the generation gap in research variables is more obvious than gender differences.

falling down or even collapse is one of the most serious, as well as prevalent, difficulties people in their elderly face. Falling is related to decline in activities in basic life and also to those which are instrumental in daily life. Falling and the subsequent injuries are determinant factors of performance decline in elderly denizens of the society. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of brain gym exercises on static and dynamic balance of those in elderly who do not have any regular physical activity. The following papers are an empirical study in which the sampling was the available ilk. For this purpose, 30 people in their elderly were selected and randomly divided into two groups of 15, according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The empirical group performed brain gym exercises, which have been exclusively designed to improve body balance, in 8 sessions of 30 minutes. Stork and timed stand-up-and-down tests were utilized in order to measure static and dynamic balance of participants in both pre- and post-tests respectively. Moreover, Covariance test was used to analyze the data. Concludingly, it was demonstrated that by controlling the pre-test scores, there is a significant difference between static and dynamic balance of the control and empirical group. The findings of this study are indicative of the brain gym exercise influence on motor factors associated with falling and, concomitantly, on those with possible prevention of falling in the elderly.

the purpose of the present study was to compare metacognitive beliefs and cognitive failures in older adults with and without religious behaviors. The method of the present study was causal-comparative. The statistical society was comprised of all older adults in Ardebil. The study sample included 235 older adults (112 older adults without religious behaviors and 123 older adults with religious behaviors), chosen by convenience Sampling. Data were collected using the Broadbent, Cooper, Fitzgerald and Parkes, cognitive failures questionnaire, Nielsen, religious behavior questionnaire and Wells and Certwright-Hatton, and metacognition questionnaire. The results of Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that the average scores of the components of cognitive trust, positive beliefs about worry and self-awareness in older adults with religious behaviors were significantly lower than the older adults without religious behaviors (p<0.01). But, between the average scores of metacognitive beliefs there is no significant difference in older adults with religious behaviors high and low. Also, the results of Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that there is a significant difference between the average scores of cognitive failures and its components (distractibility, memory lapses, Blunders and forgetting people’s names) in older adults with and without religious behaviors. In other words, average scores of the cognitive failures and its components (distractibility, memory lapses, Blunders and forgetting people’s names) were significantly lower in older adults with religious behaviors (p<0.01). This finding has important implications are regards the mental health of older adults.