Long-term effects of a structured life review process.

This study examined the long-term effects of a structured life review process in a group of 52 homebound elderly clients. Subjects in three groups were tested three times on four dependent variables. At 8 weeks the experimental group, after receiving the life review process, showed significant gains on two dependent variables, life satisfaction and psychological well-being, with analyses of covariance of F = 11.52, p less than .0001 and F = 9.90, p less than .003, respectively. Two other dependent variables, depression and activities of daily living, demonstrated no significant change at the 8 weeks posttest. Retesting 35 survivors at 1 year revealed little significant change for any group. There was, however, an upward trend in the experimental group on the outcome measure of life satisfaction and a downward trend in all groups on measures of activities of daily living and depression.