The present analogue study compared the effects of 2 theoretically divergent Life Review group psychotherapies on aspects of late life adjustment and development. Thirty-six adult non-patients, ages 65 years and older, from the Muncie - Delaware County vicinity, were randomly selected from an available subject pool of screened volunteer respondents and randomly assigned to one of three analogue treatment conditions with two groups for each treatment condition. These three treatment conditions were the structured reminiscence life review group (SRLR), the Gestalt life review group (GLR) and a Wait List control group (WLC). Demographic, mental status, and Activities of Daily Living Scale (ADL) data were obtained from initial respondents by telephone interview and followed by written completion of the Symptom Checklist (SCL 90-R). The differential effects of treatment were measured by pre and post testing on four dependent variables: (1) depression, (2) congruence, (3) helplessness, and (4) ego integrity.Results indicated that neither of the two life review group psychotherapy treatments had any statistically significant effect upon the dependent variables. In a post hoc exploratory analysis, evidence emerged which suggested that the participants in the GLR treatment condition may have shown significant improvement on several state mental health variables. The dimensions of improvement for participants in the GLR were Interpersonal Sensitivity, Hostility, Depression, and Positive Symptom report as measured by the SCL 90-R. This contrasted with those in both the SRLR or WLC condition for whom no improvement was shown. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/177432 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Koffman, Steven D. |
| Contributors | Nicholas, Donald R. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | xi, 196 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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