2021 Volume 28 Issue 1 Pages 1-13
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of a positive psychology-based intervention named “Happy Program” in improving the mental health and well-being of community-dwelling older adults.
Methods: All residents aged 65 or older of city A in the Tokyo Prefecture were sent a Kihon checklist survey by mail, of which 27,760 were answered (response rate 72.6%). Flyers requesting participants for the Happy Program, a 12-week program (two-hour sessions once a week) were sent to the 6,225 participants who scored two or more in depressive mood as per the checklist. Of them, 65 residents agreed to participate and were assigned to the intervention group. Subsequently, 195 people whose age, gender, residential district, and depressive mood score on the checklist matched those in the intervention group were extracted and assigned to a control group. A total of 128 participants returned valid responses and were included in the analysis (intervention group: n = 41; mean age: 71.4 years; control group: n = 87; mean age: 71.7 years). Those with a history of psychiatric disorders and those who were having depressive symptoms at the time of the pre-intervention survey were excluded. Before and after the intervention, all participants completed the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS); Athene Insomnia Scale (AIS); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI); and the Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire (FEQ). A two-way repeated-measures AVOVA was conducted for the evaluation indices.
Results: The intervention group showed significantly reduced in their GDS, AIS, and STAI scores before and after the intervention (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The Happy Program, which incorporates positive psychology intervention techniques, was found to be effective in improving depressive states, insomnia, and anxiety, suggesting that it is effective in preventing depression and maintaining and promoting mental health among community-dwelling older adults.
