De relatie tussen spedifieke, positieve autobiografische herinneringen en geestelijke gezondheid bij ouderen

Introduction. Because a lot of elderly people suffer from depressive and anxiety symptoms en their well-being is low, this study investigates if there is a relation between the recollection of specific, positive autobiographical memories and mental health in elderly people. It is expected that this relation is present. Method. A questionnaire is taken from 40 people of 65 years and older. This questionnaire contained the GDS-8, the HADS-A, the AMT and the MHC-SF. There was searched for coherence between these variables by calculation correlations and doing a regression analysis. Results. Significant correlations were found between positive mental health and depressive symptoms (r = -.54) and anxiety symptoms (r = -.38). Also significant correlations were found between specific, positive autobiographical memories and depressive symptoms (r = -.50) and positive mental health (r = .41). Psychological well-being was the only significant predictor of specific, positive autobiographical memories (β = .407, p < .05). Conclusion. This study shows that specific, positive autobiographical memories are related to mental health of elderly people. There was found a relation with both depressive symptoms and well-being. This knowledge can be used for future research about interventions to reduce depressive symptoms and enhance well-being.