title: The effect of intergenerational programs on the mental health of elderly adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of an intergenerational program on elderly persons' symptoms of depressive mood and in improving their sense of coherence, which is an element for successful coping with stressors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated an intervention research project (Research of Productivity by Intergenerational Sympathy [REPRINTS]), in which volunteers >65 years old read picture books to children in a school setting. The intervention group (REPRINTS) was recruited through intensive weekly training seminars for three months. The no-contact control group members were also recreated to participate in health checks and surveys for data collection purposes. Eventually, 26 participants in the intervention group and 54 in the control group were included for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age or gender was not significantly different between the intervention and control groups. A two-way repeated-measures ANOVA shows a time × group significant interaction effects. Analyses of the simple main effects showed that sense of meaningfulness significantly increased for members of the intervention group at all terms, with no changes in the control group over time. Multiple mediation analysis revealed that participation in the intergenerational program was associated with a sense of manageability which was also significantly related to depressive mood.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intergenerational programs could serve as key health promoters among elderly people by decreasing the risk of social isolation and loneliness due to the greater sense of meaningfulness. However, given our limited sample size, generalizability was restricted and studies with larger cohorts are required to further validate our findings.
authors.affiliation: a Research Teams for Social Participation and Community Health , Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology , Tokyo , Japan.
authors.forename: Yoh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murayama
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohba
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yasunaga
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.forename: Rumi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishi
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.forename: Hayato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shinkai
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008603:Mental Health; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011932:Reading; D012574:Schools; D060685:Sense of Coherence; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D013334:Students; D014041:Tokyo
keywords: depressive mood; intergenerational program; mental health; older adults; psychosocial interventions; sense of coherence