Elderly Health Journal

Introduction: Biological changes impact the psychological and interpersonal function in late life. Therefore, the general health and well-being diminish with decreasing the ages. These changes lead to decreasing life satisfaction and meaning of life in elderly individuals. The aim of study is to examine the effectiveness of positive psychology interventions (PPIs) on meaning of life and life satisfaction among older adults.

Methods: This study is quasi-experimental with pre and post-tests. Thirty elderly residents were selected from Tohid nursing home in Tehran in 2015. The participants were assigned randomly to the control (15 subjects with mean’s age 74.66 ± 6.62) and experimental groups (15 subjects with mean’s age 76.73 ± 9.45). PPIs were conducted during 10 sessions (each 90 minutes per week). Then the questionnaire was administered at post-test. Statistical analysis was conducted using Paired Samples t-test and analysis of Covariance. The research instruments were the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, the Mini Mental State Examination, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale .

Results: There was a significant difference between the pretest and post-test scores of meaning of life (t = 3.85) and life satisfaction (t = 4.10) in the experimental group (p < 0.05). Also, there was significant difference between means of meaning of life (F = 19.88) and life satisfaction (F = 18.72) by eliminating the pretest effect (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The finding emphasized that PPIs is a kind of psychotherapy that addresses strengths, resources, values and hopes instead of deficits and weaknesses. Hence, it could be considered in therapeutic intervention to enhance the component of well-being as life satisfaction and  meaning of life.