Effect of Group Logotherapy on Life Expectancy and Mental and Social Wellbeing of The Female Elderly Residents of Nursing Homes in Dubai

• Main Authors: Majid Saffarinia, Afsaneh Dortaj
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences 2018-01-01
• Series: Sālmand
• Subjects: Group logotherapy; Life expectancy; Psychological well-being; Older adults
• Online Access: http://salmandj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2104-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1

Objectives The aim of the current research was to investigate the effectiveness of group logotherapy in improving life expectancy and mental and social wellbeing of female elderly residents of nursing homes in Dubai.&nbsp; Methods & Materials This study was a quasi-experimental research conducted in the form of a pretest-posttest with control group design. Forty elderly women aged over 65 years and residing in nursing homes in Dubai were selected for the study by stratified random sampling. The participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the group logotherapy for 8 sessions, and each session lasted for 1 and a half hours. The control group was put on a waiting list. The participants completed the Snyder&rsquo;s Hope Scale, Ryff&rsquo;s Scales of Psychological Well-being, and the Social Well-Being Scale in the pre-test and post-test. The data were analyzed using multi-variable covariance analysis.&nbsp; Results The mean and standard deviation of participants&rsquo; age in the experimental and control groups were 65.10&plusmn;12.10 years and 67.12&plusmn;11.80 years, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of total scores of psychological well-being (445.31&plusmn;35.90), life expectancy (37.01&plusmn;2.13) and social well-being (27.99&plusmn;3.06) were assessed. The results showed that group logotherapy could increase mental wellbeing, the components of life expectancy such as pathways and agentic thinking as well as components of social wellbeing including social cohesion, social participation, social flourishing, social cohesion and social acceptance (P<0.001) in female elderly residents of nursing homes in Dubai. Conclusion It was concluded that mental health professionals can use group logotherapy to improve life expectancy and mental and social wellbeing of female elderly residents of nursing homes. Also, it is suggested that future research should investigate the effectiveness of group logotherapy in improving other positive psychological constructs in female and male elderly residents of nursing homes.