The Effectiveness of Life Review on the Sense of Coherence and Retirement Syndrome in Older Adults

Retirement has become an ever-increasing important topic in psychological research, which is accompanied by problems. Therefore, it is necessary to intervene in order to increase the sense of cohesion and reduce the retirement syndrome. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of examining the effectiveness of life review on the sense of coherence and retirement syndrome in older adults. This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population of the research included all the retired male teachers (60 years old and older) of Harsin, Iran in 2022. The sample of the research included 30 individuals selected using convenience sampling method and according to the study inclusion and exclusion criteria. The experimental group received Haight and Webster's life review protocol in six 90-minute sessions. The measures were Antonovsky’s sense of coherence scale and Bozorgmehri et al.’s retirement syndrome questionnaire. The data were analyzed through univariate covariance analysis (ANCOVA) in SPSS-26 software. The findings indicated that the protocol of life review has significant effectiveness in increasing the sense of coherence and reducing the retirement syndrome in older adults. As such, participants in experimental group showed a significant improvement in the sense of coherence and retirement syndrome compared to the control group. According to the empirical evidence of the positive effectiveness of the life review on the sense of coherence and retirement syndrome, it is recommended that all retirement centers and nursing homes and even families of older adults take advantages of this cost-effective and practical method.
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
 Introduction
Studies on older adults have shown that mental health plays a fundamental role in their quality of life. Variables such as sense of coherence and retirement syndrome are associated with the mental health of older adults. Sense of coherence, by attributing meaning to events, understanding them as comprehensible, and feeling them as manageable, enhances individuals’ motivation to face life challenges in old age. Regarding retirement syndrome, older adults experiencing feelings of helplessness, failure, and conflict due to this syndrome are more likely to have compromised mental health. Given the significant impact of sense of coherence and retirement syndrome on the mental health of older adults, utilizing therapeutic methods that influence these variables can improve the quality of life in old people. One such therapeutic method is the life review, which helps older adults retrieve life events, reframe them within a new mental structure, and expand their understanding of life’s meaning. Considering the gaps in the research literature, the present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of life review on sense of coherence and retirement syndrome in older adults.
Method
This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group. The statistical population included all retired male teachers aged 60 and older in Harsin, Iran. Using the convenience sampling method, we selected 30 eligible individuals and randomly assigned them to experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent six 90-minute sessions of Haight and Webster's life review protocol, while the control group received no intervention. Inclusion criteria were: (1) age over 60, (2) scoring below the mean on the sense of coherence scale and above the mean on the retirement syndrome questionnaire, and (3) having a high school diploma or higher. Exclusion criteria included: (1) concurrent participation in other therapies, (2) having a severe illness, and (3) experiencing recent bereavement. Participants filled out Antonovsky’s sense of coherence scale and Bozorgmehri et al.’s retirement syndrome questionnaire. Data from the pretest and posttest stages were analyzed using descriptive statistics and univariate covariance analysis (ANCOVA) in SPSS-26.
 Results
Before testing the hypotheses, assumptions underlying ANCOVA, including homogeneity of variances, homogeneity of regression slopes, and normality of data, were examined and confirmed. Consequently, ANCOVA was used to test the hypotheses. The results of the ANCOVA are presented in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, there is a significant difference in sense of coherence between the experimental and control groups. Specifically, the life review intervention significantly increased the sense of coherence in the experimental group, with a mean score of 65.13 compared to 44.66 in the control group. The effect size was 0.82, indicating that 82% of the variance in sense of coherence scores could be attributed to the life review intervention. Therefore, the first hypothesis was confirmed. Similarly, a significant difference in retirement syndrome was found between the experimental and control groups. The life review intervention significantly reduced retirement syndrome in the experimental group, with a mean score of 98.86 compared to 144.13 in the control group. The effect size was 0.85, indicating that 85% of the variance in retirement syndrome scores could be attributed to the life review intervention. Thus, the second hypothesis was confirmed.
Conclusion
Regarding the first finding, life review helps older adults retrieve life events, reframe them within a new mental structure, expand  their  understanding  of life’s meaning, and attribute value to their experiences. Additionally, life review aids older adults in planning appropriately for their lives, thereby increasing their sense of coherence. The second finding indicates that retirement syndrome affects the mental health of older adults; those with high retirement syndrome have lower self-awareness and struggle to manage everyday stress and engage with society. To address this syndrome, appropriate therapeutic methods that alleviate its symptoms should be employed. Life review therapy, involving a process of reframing memories, allows individuals to reinterpret unacceptable memories, accept previously negative events, and reassess them, thereby reducing retirement syndrome symptoms in older adults.
Ethical Consideration
Ethical Code
To comply with ethical standards in the research, we obtained relevant permissions for this study from Lorestan University.
Financial Support
 This study had no financial support
Authors’ Contributions
M.A: Conceptualization, Methodology, Project Administration, Data Curation, Supervision; M.H: Data Collection, Formal Analysis, Software; A.B: Writing-Original Draft, Writing-Review & Editing, Validation
Conflict of Interest
The author had no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgments
The researchers thank all the male retirees who participated in the study.
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