The Effects of a Positive-Emotion-Enhancing Program on the Happiness of the Elderly
Keywords:
positive emotions, happiness, elderly, mental health promotionAbstract
This Quasi-experimental research had a two-group pretest-posttest design. The objective of the study was to examine the effects of a positive-emotion-enhancing program on the happiness of the elderly. The subjects used in this research were older adults aged 60-79 years living in Mueang Nong Bua Lamphu District, Nong Bua Lamphu Province in Thailand. Thus, 62 people were divided into the experimental and control groups with 31 participants each. The experimental group received the positive-emotion-enhancing program developed by the researcher according to Broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions once a week for 90 minutes each over ten weeks. The control group received the routine nursing care of the district health promoting hospital, such as health screening and medical examination for illness, etc. were assessed using the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test statistics.
The findings can be summarized as follows: 1) The mean happiness scores of the elderly in the experimental group that participated in the positive emotion enhancing program after the experiment was higher than their pretest scores with statistical significance at .001. 2) The mean difference between pretest and posttest in the mean happiness scores of the experimental group was higher than those of the control group with statistical significance at .001.
In conclusion, the positive-emotion-enhancing program increased positive emotions, negative emotions elimination skills, and life satisfaction, which are components of happiness in older people.
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