title: Effects of a comprehensive educational group intervention in older women with cognitive complaints: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study presents a new comprehensive educational group intervention that offers psycho-education about cognitive aging and contextual factors (i.e., negative age stereotypes, beliefs, health, and lifestyle), focuses on skills and compensatory behavior, and incorporates group discussion. Its effects were investigated in community-dwelling older women who report normal age-related cognitive complaints.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized controlled trial with an experimental and waiting-list control condition was carried out in a sample of 50 women aged 60-75 years. As the main problem of these individuals were perceived cognitive deficits without actual cognitive decrements, metacognition served as the primary outcome measure.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  cognitive functioning and psychological well-being were secondary outcome measures. A double baseline and a follow-up assessment were carried out.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants in the experimental condition reported significantly fewer negative emotional reactions toward cognitive functioning (U = 164.500, p = 0.004). The reported effect size (δ = -0.473) could be interpreted as large.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This new comprehensive educational group intervention reduces negative emotional reactions toward cognitive functioning, which seems a prerequisite for improved subjective cognitive functioning and well-being. It can potentially contribute the well-being of an important and large group of older adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, The Netherlands. e.m.hoogenhout@gmail.com
authors.forename: Esther M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Hoogenhout
authors.forename: Renate H M
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: de Groot
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van der Elst
authors.forename: Jelle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jolles
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D013315:Stress, Psychological