University of Twente Student Theses

Een studie naar de samenhang tussen specifieke positieve autobiografische herinneringen en eenzaamheid, depressie en angst bij mensen van 65 jaar en ouder met lichte tot matige depressieklachten

Rüttgens, Christina (2013) Een studie naar de samenhang tussen specifieke positieve autobiografische herinneringen en eenzaamheid, depressie en angst bij mensen van 65 jaar en ouder met lichte tot matige depressieklachten.

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Abstract:	Older people are more likely to develop a depression or anxiety-disorder and to feel lonely. This especially applies to people who live in a home for senior residents, experience health issues and are confronted with the loss of important people such a partner and friends. A way to cope with all that is to reflect on their own life and positive events. This study aims to reveal a correlation between older peoples’ ability to retrieve specific positive memories and depression, anxiety and loneliness. A distinction is made between emotional loneliness, which means not having a close relationship with another person, and social loneliness, which means not having a social network. For this research an interview was conducted with 14 people who are 65 years or older, experience light or moderate depression symptoms and live in local homes for senior residence. Measured were their depression (with the GDS-8), their anxiety (with the HADS-A) and their loneliness symptoms (with the loneliness scale). Then it was measured with the AMT how many specific positive memories they were able to recall. The same was done with 31 people of 65 years or older who do not live in a home for senior residents and who do not experience depression. In both groups a significant negative correlation was found between the specific positive memories and depression and a significant positive correlation between depression and emotional loneliness and between depression and anxiety. Also there was found a positive correlation between emotional loneliness and anxiety and between emotional and social loneliness. These results show that older depressed people could recall less specific positive memories, and that depressed people scored higher for emotional loneliness and for anxiety. Furthermore, this means that the older people who scored higher for emotional loneliness also scored higher for anxiety.
Item Type:	Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:	BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:	77 psychology
Programme:	Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:	https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64148
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