Beneficial effects of a reminiscence intervention ('Remember-ME') on cognitive and psychological dimensions: a pilot study on community-dwelling older adults.

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to evaluate the beneficial effects of a reminiscence based intervention ('Remember-ME') on both cognitive (i.e. autobiographical memory and verbal memory) and psychological dimensions (i.e. life satisfaction, psychological well-being and loneliness) in cognitively intact community-dwelling older adults.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the effects of the program, including a pre-test and a post-test. The total sample consisted of 52 healthy community-dwelling retirees without cognitive impairment aged between 60 and 83 years; 30 older adults were recruited in the experimental group and 22 older adults in the control group. The experimental group received 1.5 h of group-based reminiscence training ('Remember-ME') per week for 10 weeks.

RESULTS

Significant effects were found on both cognitive and psychological measures. Specifically, the intervention significantly improved the subjective quality (i.e. vividness) of autobiographical memory, the level of life satisfaction along with reducing feeling of loneliness.

CONCLUSION

Structured group reminiscence may be an effective method for improving both autobiographical memory and mental health in older adults.