The Effectiveness of Logo Therapy on Death Anxiety in the Elderly

Abstract

Due to the growing trend of the elderly population, attempts to solve their problems, including their mental health problems appear to be necessary. One of the most significant and widespread anxieties among the elderly is fear of death.The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Logotherapy on the death anxiety among the elderly.This study is quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest control group. The study sample included all elderly women in the Elderly Day Centers in Kermanshah.To select sample, an elderly care center were randomly selected and among 93 elderly women members in the center, 50 patients who met the inclusion criteria were selected and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups.The experimental group received the Logotherapy protocol for ten weekly sessions of one hour.Data collection instruments included Collett-Lester the Fear of Death questionnaires (1969).The result of analysis of covariance shows that the Logotherapy significantly reduced the death anxiety in the experimental group.Therefore, it is suggested to psychologists working in the field of elderly to take advantage of this treatment to reduce the anxiety of death in the elderly.

Keywords

• logotherapy
• death anxiety
• elderly