Reminiscence Therapy on Depression, Self Esteem, Life Satisfaction, and Loneliness of the Elderly

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The primary hypothesis is, comparing with the control group, reminiscence therapy is significantly and clinically effective to improve the experiment group's depressive symptoms after six weeks therapy, and the efficacy can be maintained on the three months follow-up. The secondary hypothesis is, comparing with the control group, reminiscence therapy significantly reduce the loneliness and increase the self-esteem and life satisfaction of the experiment group.

Detailed Description
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The subjects who are arranged to the experiment group will be intervened using the reminiscence therapy manual proposed by Watt and Cappeliez (2000). According to the manual, the group consisted of six weekly sessions of 90 min each. During each weekly session, the memories recalled focused on a different theme. Data collection will occur on screening (as for baseline or pre-test), after intervention immediately (as for post-test), and three months after the intervention (as for follow-up). And outcome measures use standardized instruments with demonstrated validity and reliability: Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) Rosenberg self-esteem scale (SES) Life Satisfaction Index A (LSI-A) Russell's UCLA Loneliness Scale

Official Title
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The Effects of Reminiscence Therapy on Depression, Self Esteem, Life Satisfaction, and Loneliness of the Elderly in China

Conditions
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Depression

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: reminiscence therapy


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 60 years of age and older; A score above 10 and lower than 26 on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS); A score of 24 or higher on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE); Not taking anti-depressant medication or taking part in other psychotherapy when enrolling, if taking anti-depressant medication, must be stabilized on that medication for at least three months; Having no problem with communication (such as, can speak fluent mandarin, or if he/she speaks a dialect, his/her dialect can be understood by most of people). Exclusion Criteria: Suicide attempt; A diagnosis of cognitive impairment by DSM-Ⅳ, or mental disorders other than depression; Alcohol or drug abuse; Cannot grantee attending the therapy at a weekly base due to physical impairment, lack of time or unwilling etc.

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: reminiscence therapy<br>Reminiscence therapy is a method of using the memory to protect mental health and improve the quality of life. | Behavioral: reminiscence therapy<br>* The subjects who are arranged to the experiment group will be intervened using the reminiscence therapy manual proposed by Watt and Cappeliez (2000). According to the manual, the group consisted of six weekly sessions of 90 min each. There will be about four people in each subgroup. During each weekly session, the memories recalled focused on a different theme.<br>* Other names: life review;|
| No Intervention: Control group<br>The participants assigned to the waiting-list as the control group will be treated as before. After the intervention period, we will conduct reminiscence therapy on them if they ask for. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in depression using the Geriatric Depression Scale(GDS) |  | the 6th and 18th week | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in self esteem using the Self-Esteem Scale (SES) |  | the 6th and 18th week | 
| Change in life satisfaction using the Life Satisfaction Index A (LSI-A) |  | the 6th and 18th week | 
| Change in loneliness using Russell's UCLA Loneliness Scale |  | the 6th and 18th week |