The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Rumination and Existential Anxiety in the Elderly Men

Aging, as one of the most critical stages of human development, has its own characteristics and conditions. In the meantime, rumination and existential anxiety are among the most common mental health issues in the elderly that proper intervention can be conducted to improve them. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of compassion-based therapy on rumination and existential anxiety in the elderly. It was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and control group design. The statistical population of the study included all the elderly men living in Ahvaz in 2020. The sample consisted of 30 elderly men (60 to 70 years old) selected using available sampling method and according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The experimental group received eight 90-minute weekly sessions. The questionnaires applied in the current study included Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow’s rumination and Weems et al.’s existential anxiety. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS-22 software. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between experimental and control group in terms of rumination and existential anxiety in posttest (P<0.001). Put in other words, the results of the present study showed that compassion-based therapy is effective in reducing existential anxiety and improving rumination of the elderly. The results of the current study seem to open up new horizons in psychological interventions, and compassion-based therapy can be applied as an effective therapeutic method for improving mental health of the elderly.