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

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

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Unknown
• Conditions: Depression
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: reminiscence therapy

Detailed Description

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

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Anticipated): 60
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• China
  • Beijing
    • Beijing, Beijing, China, 100101
      • Recruiting
      • Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Psychology, Center on Ageing Psychology, Key Lab of Mental Health
      • Contact: Tingji Chen, master; Phone Number: (086)18610249921; Email: Chentj@psych.ac.cn
      • Contact: Juan Li, PhD; Phone Number: (086)010-64861622; Email: lijuan@psych.ac.cn
      • Principal Investigator: Juan Li, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 60 years of age and older;
2. A score above 10 and lower than 26 on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS);
3. A score of 24 or higher on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE);
4. 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;
5. 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:

1. Suicide attempt;
2. A diagnosis of cognitive impairment by DSM-Ⅳ, or mental disorders other than depression;
3. Alcohol or drug abuse;
4. Cannot grantee attending the therapy at a weekly base due to physical impairment, lack of time or unwilling etc.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: reminiscence therapy; Reminiscence therapy is a method of using the memory to protect mental health and improve the quality of life.	Behavioral: reminiscence therapy; 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.; Other Names: life review
No Intervention: Control group; 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?

Primary Outcome Measures

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

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	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

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Juan Li, PhD, Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Psychol, Ctr Ageing Psychol, Key Lab Mental Hlth

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chen TJ, Li HJ, Li J. The effects of reminiscence therapy on depressive symptoms of Chinese elderly: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry. 2012 Nov 5;12:189. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-12-189.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2011
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): September 1, 2012
• Study Completion (Anticipated): September 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 6, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 12, 2012
• First Posted (Estimate): March 14, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 15, 2012
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 14, 2012
• Last Verified: May 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Depression; Depressive Disorder
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2009BAI77B03