Mindfulness and psychological well-being in older adults: the effect of reminiscence therapy

This study aimed to examine the effects of reminiscence therapy on psychological well-being and mindfulness among community-dwelling older adults. This pre-test–post-test randomized controlled trial was conducted at XX Community Health Center between May and June 2025. The study was completed with 90 community-dwelling older adults who were randomly assigned to an experimental group ( n = 45) or a control group ( n = 45). Data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, the Psychological Well-Being Scale, and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Participants in the experimental group received a structured 10-session reminiscence therapy program, whereas the control group received no intervention during the study period. Outcomes were assessed before and immediately after the intervention. A two-way mixed analysis of variance was used to examine the effects of group, time, and the group × time interaction. A significant group × time interaction was found for mindful awareness, indicating that changes in Mindful Attention Awareness Scale scores differed significantly between the experimental and control groups, F (1, 88) = 31.415, p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.263. Mindful awareness scores increased in the experimental group from 56.71 ± 16.70 at pre-test to 64.27 ± 16.57 at post-test, whereas scores decreased in the control group from 58.00 ± 18.85 to 54.64 ± 17.87. A significant group × time interaction was also observed for psychological well-being, F (1, 88) = 15.196, p < 0.001, ηp² = 0.147. Psychological well-being scores increased in the experimental group from 37.00 ± 9.35 to 40.80 ± 10.34, whereas they decreased in the control group from 40.53 ± 14.74 to 36.53 ± 10.91. Reminiscence therapy was associated with significantly more favorable changes in mindful awareness and psychological well-being compared with the control condition. These findings suggest that reminiscence therapy may be a useful psychosocial intervention for supporting positive psychological functioning and mindful awareness among community-dwelling older adults. Further studies with larger and more diverse samples, active control conditions, and long-term follow-up assessments are needed to confirm the sustainability and generalizability of these findings. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT06964399.