JOURNAL OF AGING PSYCHOLOGY
Year:2019 | Volume:5 | Issue:4 |Papers Count:8

Today, in many countries, elderly suicide is considered as an important issue in public health. The present study aimed to predict suicidal ideation based on interpersonal cognitive distortions, positive and negative affect, perceived social support and meaning in life in the elderly without a spouse. It was a correlational descriptive study. The statistical population of the study included all elderly attending nursing homes in Ardabil in 2019 among whom 111 were selected by convenience sampling method. Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation, Hamamci and Buyukozturk Scale for Interpersonal Cognitive Distortions, Watson and Clark Questionnaire for Positive and Negative Affect, Zimet Multiple Scale for Perceived Social Support and Steger Questionnaire for Meaning in Life were used to collect the required data. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis in SPSS version 23 software. The results showed a significant positive correlation between interpersonal cognitive distortions and negative affect with suicidal ideation of the elderly (P<0/01). In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between positive affect and perceived social support with suicidal ideation of elderly (P<0/01). However, results suggested no significant correlation between meaning in life and suicidal ideation of elderly. In addition, the results of regression analysis revealed that approximately 48% of the total variance of suicidal ideation was predicted based on cognitive distortions, positive and negative affect and perceived social support (P<0/01). In general, according to the findings of the study and in order to prevent the occurrence of suicidal ideation in elderly without a spouse, it was recommended to pay attention to dimension such as interpersonal cognitive distortions, positive and negative affect and perceived social support.

Empty nest stage in family life cycle, which takes place with children leaving home, may cause an increase in the feelings of depression, loneliness and anxiety of parents. Women are more likely to be affected than men. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of unity-oriented psychology based training on loneliness and death anxiety in women at empty nest stage. A quasi-experimental research method with pretest-posttest, control group and 2-month follow-up was used in this study. The statistical population consisted of women experiencing empty nest stage in Tehran. The sampling method was purposive and 24 individuals were selected and randomly assigned into two groups (n=12). The experimental group participated in 6 sessions of Unity-Oriented Psychology based training, once a week, for 120 minutes, and 6 home exercise sessions, and the control group was on the waiting list. Research instruments included Revised Loneliness Scale (UCLA) and the Templer Death Anxiety Questionnaire (DAS). Descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of covariance were used for data analysis. The results showed that the unity-oriented psychology based training had a significant effect on reducing feelings of loneliness and death anxiety among women experiencing empty nest stage. These results were also consistent after a 2-month follow-up. According to the findings of this study, unity-oriented psychology based training can be considered as an effective intervention to reduce the feelings loneliness and death anxiety of women at empty nest stage.

Stress has been known as a phenomenon which is in relationship with physical and psychological health, and mental and health-related stressors are exacerbated with age. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of spiritual intelligence, self-compassion, and psychological hardiness in predicting perceived stress in the elderly. It was a descriptive-correlational study. The statistical population of this study included all the elderly in Ardabil, Iran in 2018, out of whom 120 were selected through convenience sampling. Data collection tools included Cohen, Kamarck and Mermelstein’ s Perceived Stress Scale, King's Spiritual Intelligence Scale, Neff's Self-Compassion Scale, and Kobasa, Maddi and Kahan Psychological Hardiness Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and regression analysis by SPSS 21. Perceived stress in elderly showed a negative significant relationship with spiritual intelligence, self-compassion, and psychological hardiness (p<0. 05). Spiritual intelligence, self-compassion, and psychological hardiness predicted 72% of the variance in perceived stress scores in the elderly (p <0. 01). Therefore, due to the effects of spiritual intelligence, self-compassion, and psychological hardiness on perceived stress, it can be reduced by raising awareness and employing measures to empower the elderly in these areas.

Hypertension and cognitive disorders are common problems in the elderly and their prevalence is increasing as the population ages. The present study aimed to investigate different aspects of cognitive function in elderly people with and without hypertension. It was a causal-comparative study. The statistical population included the elderly of Arak city, among them, two groups of 30 were selected through convenience sampling, one with hypertension based on medical records and the other non-hypertensive. Montreal test was used to assess cognitive performance dimensions. Results of multivariate analysis of variance showed that in all subscales of the Montreal test, the elderly without hypertension performed significantly better than the elderly with hypertension. The most significant differences between the two groups were known in the subscales of language, computation and attention. This finding suggested the effects of high blood pressure on brain function. According to the results of this study, it is necessary to design and implement therapeutic protocols for the elderly with hypertension for their cognitive rehabilitation.

Aging is a biological process that all living beings, including humans, experience it. Therefore, it is crucial to notice and prevent some disorders such as anxiety in the field of aging. One of the undeniable facts about aging is recognizing the reality of death and anxiety that weakens compatibility in elderly. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological hardiness and practical commitment to prayer with death anxiety in the elderly. It was a descriptive-correlation survey. The statistical population included all the elderly man over 60, living in the 1th district of Tehran. 250 elderly men over 60 were selected using convenience sampling in local parks of the 1th district of Tehran. Psychological hardiness questionnaire by Kiamarsi et al., Templer Death Anxiety Scale and scale of attitude and practical commitment to prayer Enisi et al. were completed. Data were analyzed in SPSS-22 using Pearson's correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression with Enter Method. The results suggested a negative and significant correlation between psychological hardiness and practical commitment of Prayer in the Elderly (P<0. 01). Also, Death Anxiety Regression Model showed that psychological hardiness (P<0. 05), practical commitment to prayer (P<0. 01), the effectiveness of prayer in individual and social life (P<0. 01), attentions and acts of precepts (P<0. 01), serious commitment to prayer (P<0. 01) and care and presence of the heart in prayers (P<0. 01) could negatively predict death anxiety. According to the result, it was suggested that counselors and psychologists working with elderly may reduce the anxiety of death among them through raising awareness and applying measures to increase hardiness and practice religious beliefs.

One of the undeniable realities of aging is recognizing the reality of death and the resulting anxiety, as well as the existence of pain, which is a common experience and a serious problem in old age and can weaken compatibility among the elderly. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on pain perception and death anxiety in the elderly. It was a semi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design including control group. The statistical population of the present study included all elderly people in Aligudarz, Iran in 2018. The statistical sample consisted of 30 people who were randomly selected based on the entrance criteria of the study and divided to two experimental and control groups (15 people in each group). McGill Pain Questionnaire developed by Melzak, and the Templer Death Anxiety Scale were used to collect the data. The experimental group received 8 positive psychotherapy sessions each lasting for 90 minutes, while the control group received no intervention. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS software version 25. The results of the study showed significant reduction of pain perception and death anxiety (P<0. 01) experiment group compared to control group. Therefore, positive psychotherapy was effective on death anxiety and pain perception in the elderly. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that positive psychotherapy be used to reduce pain perception and death anxiety among elderly.

Reminiscence appears to be a crucial variable in the elderly, according elderly related literature. However, there is seen to be a lack of a suitable tool to assess the rate and kind of reminiscence in the aged people in Iran. Therefore, the current study was to construct and validate an elderly reminiscence questionnaire based on Watt and Wong (1991) model. This was a “ research and development” study in terms of its purpose and a descriptive one in terms of its kind. The statistical population contained the whole aged individuals up to 60 years old residing in Hamedan, Kermanshah, Arak, Rasht, Semnan, Urmia, Abadan, Tehran and Kerman, among whom selected using convenience sampling were 436 (226 male & 210 female) who filled out a 48-item elderly reminiscence questionnaire. Having been analysed using SPSS-23, results indicated that the internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha-coefficient) was 0. 904 for whole items and were 0. 904, 0. 826, 0. 795, 0. 812, and 0. 774 for narrative-transmissive, obsessive, integrative, death preparation, and escapist subscales respectively. The factor structure of the questionnaire was analysed using Exploratory Factor Analysis with Varimax Rotation. Results indicated that 18 items in questionnaire don’ t exhibit acceptable loading on any component and there were found 30 items which exhibited the highest loadings on 5 emerged components include narrative-transmissive (8 items), obsessive (6 items), integrative (7 items), death preparation (5 items), and escapist reminiscence (4 items). Besides, the instrumental and intimacy maintenance subscales were deleted from the questionnaire. Hence, it may open up a new chapter in the elderly related studies in Iran, with the utilization of 30-item elderly reminiscence questionnaire in future studies and the consideration of the relationship between the rate and kind of reminiscence with other significant elderly related variables.