Payne, K. T., & Marcus, D. K. (2008). The efficacy of group psychotherapy for older adult clients: A meta-analysis. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 12(4), 268-278.
This review looked at whether group psychotherapy for older (55+) adults was effective. This search found 44 studies, 27 compared the treatment to a control condition with each of the studies provided pretreatment and posttreatment data. Twelve of these studies also provided follow-up data. A total of 1,381 participants were included in this analysis with an average age of 73.22 (SD 7.14). The results indicated that group psychotherapy benefits older adults, with average rs of .42 and .24 for pre–post and controlled designs, respectively. The study discusses …show more content…
The study is a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The design employed experimental and control groups for cross-sectional comparison and pre- and post-test measures. A total of 303 participants volunteered to attend the group therapy program. These women included 182 Caucasian and 121 African Americans (AA). All of the participants provided both pre-post program data through face-to-face interviews. The program modules included: cognitive and grief therapy, reminiscence therapy, re-motivation therapy, management of chronic medical conditions, prevention of other medical disorders, and a set of brief physical exercises as their medical conditions permitted. The results of the study indicate that group therapy can provide a supportive environment for elders to work out the challenges posed at this stage of their life cycle. Quantitative evidence shows that the group therapy program was helpful in lessening depression. These results are strongest when participants are Caucasian, between the ages of 55 and 75, and who have minor clinical depression at the onset of the program. The participants in …show more content…
A total of 320 elderly persons completed the Emotional and Social Loneliness Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Self-Rating Depression Scale. The results show that there is a significant link between loneliness and social support and depression. Structural Equation Modeling proves that social support partially intercedes with loneliness and depression. The final model found that a positive relationship exists between loneliness and depression among elderly people, suggesting that elderly persons with a high level of loneliness are more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms. Another finding of this study was that the path from loneliness to depression through social support was significant. Strengths of this study are that it does prove that social support, something that a group therapy setting would provide, does have positive effects for people suffering from depression. The study also used participants that are the same age as the participants of our women’s group, allowing us to believe that social support will benefit our participants. A limitation to this study is that it is a cross-sectional study. The interpretation of the results of the mediation analyses should be done carefully. In subsequent research, longitudinal data should first be collected to prove the predictive power of loneliness to depression through social support. Second,
This review looked at whether group psychotherapy for older (55+) adults was effective. This search found 44 studies, 27 compared the treatment to a control condition with each of the studies provided pretreatment and posttreatment data. Twelve of these studies also provided follow-up data. A total of 1,381 participants were included in this analysis with an average age of 73.22 (SD 7.14). The results indicated that group psychotherapy benefits older adults, with average rs of .42 and .24 for pre–post and controlled designs, respectively. The study discusses …show more content…
The study is a quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The design employed experimental and control groups for cross-sectional comparison and pre- and post-test measures. A total of 303 participants volunteered to attend the group therapy program. These women included 182 Caucasian and 121 African Americans (AA). All of the participants provided both pre-post program data through face-to-face interviews. The program modules included: cognitive and grief therapy, reminiscence therapy, re-motivation therapy, management of chronic medical conditions, prevention of other medical disorders, and a set of brief physical exercises as their medical conditions permitted. The results of the study indicate that group therapy can provide a supportive environment for elders to work out the challenges posed at this stage of their life cycle. Quantitative evidence shows that the group therapy program was helpful in lessening depression. These results are strongest when participants are Caucasian, between the ages of 55 and 75, and who have minor clinical depression at the onset of the program. The participants in …show more content…
A total of 320 elderly persons completed the Emotional and Social Loneliness Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Self-Rating Depression Scale. The results show that there is a significant link between loneliness and social support and depression. Structural Equation Modeling proves that social support partially intercedes with loneliness and depression. The final model found that a positive relationship exists between loneliness and depression among elderly people, suggesting that elderly persons with a high level of loneliness are more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms. Another finding of this study was that the path from loneliness to depression through social support was significant. Strengths of this study are that it does prove that social support, something that a group therapy setting would provide, does have positive effects for people suffering from depression. The study also used participants that are the same age as the participants of our women’s group, allowing us to believe that social support will benefit our participants. A limitation to this study is that it is a cross-sectional study. The interpretation of the results of the mediation analyses should be done carefully. In subsequent research, longitudinal data should first be collected to prove the predictive power of loneliness to depression through social support. Second,