APPROACHES TO SUCCESSFUL AGING: A FIELD STUDY IN GERIATRIC PREVENTIVE COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH

The effects of a five-session workshop entitled "Approaches to Successful Aging" conducted under two different experimental conditions were investigated. Under one experimental condition ("A"), subjects received instruction in self-reinforcement procedures intended to increase the frequency of client-selected target behaviors. Under the other experimental condition ("B"), equivalent time and attention were devoted to a journal-keeping procedure which did not focus on specific behavior change. Both treatment groups participated in a series of age-related topical presentations. Dependent variables were target behavior frequencies, scores on the Affect Balance Scale and on the Self-rating Depression Scale, and relative proportions of positive and negative verbal behaviors emitted during a brief recorded interview. Treatment groups were measured on all dependent variables at pretest, at posttest, and after a two-month follow-up interval. Subjects in a no-treatment control group were measured at pretest and at posttest only, then took part in a similar workshop series. A total of 55 subjects aged 59 and over were recruited from two highrise apartment buildings for older adults in Reston, Virginia. After establishing cohorts of 3 each, matched for sex and depression level, the experimenter randomly assigned one subject from each cohort to each of the three conditions. When subjects dropped out, data from their cohort partners were eliminated from the study to maintain the desired balance. Complete data from 36 subjects, all female, 12 under each condition, were included in the final analysis of data. The hypotheses predicted that "A" subjects would improve significantly, and significantly more than "B" and NTC subjects, on all dependent variables, and that "B" subjects would improve, and improve significantly more than NTC subjects, on all measures except on frequency of target behaviors. The results supported only the prediction that "A" subjects would improve significantly with respect to increased frequency of target behaviors, and then the results reached significance only at the points of follow-up measurement. However, "B" subjects also improved on this variable, again with results reaching a significant level at the point of follow-up measurement, and virtually matching the increases of "A" subjects. These results were attributed primarily to the combined affects of repeated self-monitoring plus nonspecific effects of workshop participation. No other significant differences appeared among either groups or points of measurement on any other dependent variable. The appropriateness of these other dependent variables for this study with this population was discussed. Implications for future practice and research were considered. The findings indicate some promise for workshops similar to the one employed in this study, perhaps including a simple self-monitoring procedure, in the practice of geriatric community mental health. Future studies to investigate the effects on depression of self-reinforcement procedures presented in a small-group format, and to investigate the relative effects of self-reinforcement procedures and cognitive-behavior modification techniques presented in a small-group format were proposed.