It makes you keep trying: Life review writing for older adults

Writing to your past-self can make you feel better

Self-compassionate writing has been shown to be helpful for improving the mental state in some individuals. Here, we investigated how the writer's attitude toward his/her past, present and future and the focus of the writing, i.e., social experience in the past versus self-experience, modulate these effects. In Experiment 1, 150 undergraduates wrote a compassionate letter to their past-self and to their future-self and responded to the Japanese version of the Adolescent Time Inventory-Time Attitudes (ATI-TA) questionnaire. Writing to past-self decreased negative feelings more than writing to future-self. Further, participants who had negative feelings toward their past, present, and future, as assessed by the ATI-TA, were more likely to be emotionally affected by writing a letter to their past-self. In Experiment 2, 31 undergraduates wrote a letter focusing on what they had experienced together with someone, and another 31 undergraduates wrote focusing on what they had experienced alone. Focusing on a social experience was more helpful for recovering from negative feelings than focusing on a self-experience. In conclusion, writing a compassionate letter to one's past-self can improve mood, especially in individuals with a negative time attitude who focus their writing on a social connection.

Content validity for an autobiographical interview for older adults

PURPOSE

To validate a proposal for an autobiographical interview oriented to the typical older adult.

METHODS

Questions for a semi-structured autobiographical memory interview were designed and a protocol for its application was developed. Fourteen Speech and Language Pathologists judges and 14 older adults were used. Additionally, 2 interviews were conducted. Subsequently, content validity was obtained by means of Lawshe's classic procedure. Also, using a complementary evaluation for comprehensibility and length of the interview, as well as a data triangulation procedure with the judges and participants of the pilot experience.

RESULTS

Of the 22 items evaluated, only 4 were above the critical reference value (0.49).

CONCLUSION

The need to incorporate this measure of analysis in the context of respect, identity and agency of older adults is discussed as part of a change in thinking under the gaze of person-centered care and a communicative competence model. As well as the need to incorporate different cultural paradigms and the use of digital technologies.

Leaving a lasting legacy: A scoping review of ethical wills

OBJECTIVES

Palliative care guidelines recommend an interdisciplinary approach to address patients' awareness of mortality and need for end-of-life preparation. An ethical will is a nonlegal way to address mortality by communicating a lasting and intangible legacy of values to others. The aim of this scoping review is to clarify the operationalization of ethical wills across disciplines and map the purposes and outcomes of creating an ethical will.

METHODS

We followed the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. We searched 14 databases in November 2019 and January 2021 without filtering publication date or type. Two reviewers independently screened 1,948 publications. We extracted frequently used terms describing content, audience, format, purpose, and outcomes identified in ethical will creation.

RESULTS

Fifty-one publications met inclusion criteria. Six (11.7%) were research articles. Twenty-four (47.1%) were lay literature published within law, estate, and financial planning. Collectively, our included studies defined an ethical will as a nonlegal way to express values, beliefs, life lessons and experiences, wisdom, love, history, hope for the future, blessings, apology, or forgiveness using any format (e.g., text, audio, video) that is meant to be shared with family, friends, or community. The most common purposes were to be remembered, address mortality, clarify life's meaning, and communicate what matters most. Creation provided opportunity to learn about self, served as a gift to both writer and recipient, and fostered generativity and sense of symbolic immortality.

SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS

Our findings highlight interdisciplinary utilization and a lack of research of ethical wills. This review provides supportive evidence for ethical wills as a way for patients to address mortality, renew intergenerational connections, solidify self, and promote transcendence before their final days. Ethical wills have potential to be incorporated into interdisciplinary palliative care in the future to address psychological symptoms for patients anticipating the end of life.

Exploring the effects of visual and literary arts interventions on psychosocial well-being of diverse older adults: a mixed methods pilot study

BACKGROUND

Engagement in the arts may have health benefits for older adults. Most research has focused on music and dance; less is known about the benefits of other arts interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of visual (ceramics and collage) and literary arts (storytelling and writing) on well-being.

METHODS

We used mixed methods to examine the effects of a 12-week visual or literary arts intervention on well-being. Adults age 55 and over from four housing sites were assigned to start an intervention immediately (intervention) or wait 12 weeks (controls). The study included pre/post-test measures of well-being and focus groups about perceived benefits.

RESULTS

Compared to controls, participants in the ceramics intervention had significant improvements in interest in life and mastery, while no changes were observed after the storytelling intervention. Seven psychosocial benefits were identified .

CONCLUSIONS

Participation in visual and literary arts for older adults was associated with well-being media.

Comparing life review writing with active control groups: Results of a feasibility study

INTRODUCTION

Life review writing can be used to improve depressive symptoms in well older adults, but it is unclear whether the reminiscing, writing, or socialising is associated with the improvements. This study assessed the feasibility of a controlled trial comparing life review writing with two active control groups designed to isolate the acts of (a) engaging in a meaningful leisure activity and (b) socialising.

METHODS

Twenty-four participants from a 100-bed assisted living facility were enrolled in the study. Participants ranged in age from 70 to 98 years (M = 83.9, SD = 7.6). Eight 1-hour weekly sessions were held, with participants assigned to one of three groups: (a) life review writing, (b) painting, or (c) coffee from around the world. At baseline, participants completed a demographic and health questionnaire, the Mini-Cog, and the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDS-15). The GDS-15 was administered again at weeks 4 and 8, along with the health questionnaire at post-test.

RESULTS

Nearly 25% (N = 24) of the facility's residents attended at least one session, with an average attendance rate of 66.4%, or 5.3 sessions. However, to achieve this participation rate, our original plan to employ random assignment had to be abandoned. The groups were a partial success insofar as we successfully isolated engaging in a meaningful activity in the painting group, but the writing group engaged in less reminiscing than hoped. At post-test, seven participants reported health, mood, and social life benefits. GDS-15 scores fluctuated over time, with no significant improvement from pre- to post-test.

CONCLUSION

The residents' low willingness to be randomised creates a serious selection bias, but randomising volunteers into different activities runs counter to client-centred therapy. To scrutinise the mechanisms of change of life review writing, we recommend comparing two writing groups: one that reminisces and one that does not.