The Effectiveness of Positivism Training on Suicide Ideation and Death Anxiety in the Elderly

Aging appears to be a biological process experienced by all living beings including humans. Hence, it seems crucial to pay pertecular attention to the elderly and prevent disorders such as suicide ideation and death anxiety among them. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to probe the effectiveness of positivism training on suicide ideation and death anxietyin the elderly. It was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and control group design. The statistical population included all the elderly men living in Dezful, Iran in 2020. The sample consisted of 30 elderly men (60 to 70 years old) selected using the convenience sampling method and considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The experimental group underwent eight 90-minute weekly sessions. Applied in the study were the Beck’s suicide ideation scale and Collet–Lester’s fear of death scale. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis in SPSS-22 software. The results indicated that there is a significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of suicide ideation and death anxiety in the posttest (P<.001). That is, the positivism training resulted in the deacres of suicide ideation and death anxiety. According to the findings of the present study, the positivism training can be suggested as an efficient method in the reduction of suicide ideation and death anxietyin the elderly men.

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