Abstract:

 Objective   To explore the effect of positive psychological intervention on the mental health and general well-being of elderly people. Methods  A total of 76 elderly people living in one community were randomly divided into the intervention group (n=38) and control group (n=38). The intervention group received 5 times of group psychological intervention based on positive psychological theory for two months. The control group received no intervention. Mental health, general well-being and social support were tested before and after intervention using the Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), General Well-Being Schedule (GWB) and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Results  There were no significant differences in SCL-90, GWB and SSRS between the two groups before intervention (P＞0.05). After intervention, the intervention group had significantly lower total score of SCL-90 (115.24 ± 21.90 vs 135.37±25.22, t=3.89, P<0.01), higher total score and factors of GWB (t =-5.03 to -2.20, P<0.05) and total score and three dimensions of SSRS (except for support utilization) (t= -4.26 to -3.60, P<0.01) than the control group. The intervention group had significantly decreased total score of SCL-90 (115.24 ± 21.90 vs 139.50±24.50, t=4.79, P<0.01), increased total score and factors of GWB (except for energy factor) (t=-4.98 to -0.50, P<0.05) and increased total score and three dimensions of SSRS (except for support utilization) (t=-3.78 to -1.14, P<0.05). Subjective social support was negatively correlated with the total score of SCL-90 (r=-0.324, P<0.05). SSRS had no significant association with the GWB. Conclusion  Positive psychological intervention could improve the psychological health and general well-being of elderly people.

Key words: General well-being；Positive psychological intervention, Community；The elderly；Mental health