Training of conversational skills with institutionalized elderly: a preliminary study.
16 residents in a Residential Care Home for elderly people volunteered and were trained in a social skills program aimed at increasing conversational skills. Subjects were assigned randomly to three groups, one experimental and two control groups (placebo and waiting list). The techniques used in the experimental group were behavior rehearsal, feedback, modeling, discriminative reinforcement, verbal instructions, and homework. Relative to control groups, experimental subjects showed significant increases in conversational skills, such as receiving information, speaking-up, and giving information. They also showed a significant decrease in their scores on Zung's Self-rating Scale of Depression compared with the two control groups. They showed an increase in assertive responses and a decrease in aggressive and inhibited responses. These changes remained when follow-up was made 3 mo. later, suggesting the potential utility of this training program with elderly persons residing in old people's homes.
Fernández-Ballesteros
R
R
Dpto, de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain.
Izal
M
M
Diaz
P
P
Gonzalez
J L
JL
Souto
E
E
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012917:Social Adjustment; D014705:Verbal Behavior