Discussion
dysfunction or cognitive impairment, cognitive impairment, MCI, depressive symptoms, AD
This study presented cross-cultural comparisons of the effectiveness of a reminiscence program against a control group across Mexican and Spanish samples of three types of aging. The results show transcultural considerations of the adaptation of the original Spanish version of the program into a version for Mexican cultural characteristics [The effects on life satisfaction were similar across countries. In the experimental groups (AD, MCI and HA) for both countries, there was an increase in the LSI-A scores after the intervention, while in the control groups (AD, MCI and HA), either the scores were maintained, or they tended to decrease. Nevertheless, this increase in scores was only significant in Mexico’s experimental group for the AD and MCI type of aging in comparison to Spain’s.For the AMT scores, we found that the recall of specific positive memories increased after the intervention, especially for the experimental groups in all types of aging (AD, MCI, and HA) for both countries, except for the Spanish MCI group. Specifically, we observed a statistically significant increase of specific positive memories scored for both countries’ experimental groups, while the opposite pattern was observed for the control groups, with the exception of Spain’s HA control group in which the scores were higher after the intervention.As for the recall of specific negative memories, no significant differences were found throughout the groups, with the exception of Spain’s HA groups (both control and experimental) and the Mexican HA control group, which showed a significant increase and a decrease, respectively, in recall of specific negative memories. Both significant results are opposite to the expected effects because we expected that by having a space in which to share and express reminiscences, these would tend to decrease. Although reminiscing was considered as a possible sign of dysfunction or cognitive impairment in older age, it is currently considered to have adaptive functions serving as a positive predictor of mental health in older people [In previous research [The improvement of the quality of life should be one of the main objectives when working with older people. In Europe, the economic growth has positively impacted older people’s quality of life. On the contrary, Mexico’s economic growth and development is barely on the rise [The usefulness of the results found is that using this type of intervention strategy and taking the previously mentioned results as a reference, the life satisfaction of the older adults who were part of the experimental groups in the Mexican sample is increased, especially with respect to all of those who scored low prior to the intervention. In addition, after the intervention, we found an increase in specific positive memories in both countries, and this effect is greater in the experimental group in patients with AD. On the other hand, recent studies [This study explored how a positive reminiscence (REMPOS) therapy relates to cognitive (autobiographical memory) and affective variables (life satisfaction) in older people. Significant improvements stand out between the pretest and posttest scores in relation to the intervention (experimental and controls) in the experimental groups (AD, MCI, and HA) for both countries. In conclusion, this study has shown positive results using a non-pharmacological therapy in older people. People with cognitive impairment (specifically AD) showed a better improvement in cognition and emotional aspects. Thus, the results are quite encouraging and indicate the need to continue promoting studies on this topic since the use of REMPOS had shown to significantly decrease depressive symptoms, improve cognition and life satisfaction, and increase the recall of specific positive memories, which are all imperative factors in the psychological well-being and quality of life of older people. The intervention studied here has had non-commercial interests and requires further studies to replicate and implement with more diverse populations, for which the materials of the REMPOS program are available upon request to any institutions that may need it.