Proceedings of the 48th International Academic Conference, Copenhagen

A MODEL OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT FOR ENHANCING PSYCHOLOGICAL IMMUNITY OF THE ELDERLY

ORAPHIN CHOOCHOM

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an intervention of self-development for enhancing psychological immunity of the elderly. The psychological immunity intervention (PI) was based on an integration of mindfulness, self-efficacy, and optimism approaches. The study was a quasi-experimental design, including pretest and posttest with a control group. The sample was recruited from senior clubs in Bangkhunthian District, Bangkok Thailand. Participants were divided into 2 groups: 1) the intervention group (24 participants) participated in the PI intervention activities and the control group (24 participants) did not receive any intervention. The PI intervention consisted of 10 sessions for 5 weeks which lasted for two hours per session. Participants from both groups completed the questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. Results showed that elders in the PI intervention group scored significantly higher on psychological immunity and psychological well-being than did the control group. More specifically, elders receiving the PI intervention showed significantly greater psychological immunity in the domains of resilience, mindfulness, and hope than did the control group. The findings suggest that the intervention is beneficial for elder people and senior clubs to improve psychological immunity and well-being.

Keywords: Psychological immunity, intervention, well-being, elderly

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2019.048.009

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