The Effectiveness of Humor Training on the Elderly’s Well-being

Sense of humor as a part of positive psychology seems to be a comprehensive and multiple concept. Given the importance of humor and its role in the physical and mental health of individuals and the high prevalence of physical and psychological problems in old ages, the present study investigated the effectiveness of humor training on elderlies’ well-being. It was a quasi-experimental study including pre-test and post-test design with experimental group. Participants included all elderlies living in Jam, Boushehr from 2018 to 2019 among whom 42 were selected and randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. The intervention group received eight sessions of humor training. At the end of the study, 38 people were entered the analysis. Data collection was performed using World Health Organization's well-being questionnaire with five items. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS software version 24. Results showed a significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of well-being. Indeed, humor training resulted in an increase of well-being in the elderly (p < 0.001). Therefore, applying humor training by psychologists and mental health professionals at different levels of prevention can be helpful. References Ahmadi, F., Salar, A, & Faghihzadeh, S. (2004). Quality of life in Zahedan elderly population. Hayat, 10(3), 61-67. [Persian] Afshari, A., & Hashaemi, Z. (2019). The Relationship between religious exposure and psychological wellbeing with loneliness in the elderly. Journal of Aging Psychology, 5(1), 65-75. Banisi, P. (2019). The Effectiveness of positivism training on subjective well-being, positive meta-emotion and self-management ability in the elderly women. Journal of Aging Psychology, 5(3), 217-227. [Persian] Beh-Pajooh, A., Jahangiri, M, & Zahrakar, K. (2010). Humor skills training and reducing depression in patients with spinal cord injury. Developmental Psychology:Iranian Psychologists, 6(23), 227-236. [Persian] Cai, C., Yu, L., Rong, L., & Zhong, H. (2014). Effectiveness of humor intervention for patients with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of psychiatric research, 59, 174-178. Dehshiri, Gh., & Mousavi, SF. (2016). An Investigation into Psychometric Properties of Persian Version of World Health Organization Five Well-being Index. Clinical Psychology, 30(8), 67-75. [Persian]. Dionigi, R.A.(2015). Stereotypes of aging: their effects on the health of older adults. Journal of Geriatrics, Article 954027. Eser, E., Çevik, C., Baydur, H., Güneş, S., Esgin, T. A., Öztekin, Ç. S., Eker, E., Gümüşsoy, U., Eser, G. B., & Özyurt, B. (2019). Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the WHO-5, in adults and older adults for its use in primary care settings. Primary health care research & development, 20, e100. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423619000343 Falkenberg, I., Buchkremer, G., Bartels, M., & Wild, B. (2011). Implementation of a manual-based training of humor abilities in patients with depression: A pilot study. Psychiatry Research, 186(2-3),454-457. Farokhzadiyan, A., & Mirderikvand, F. (2017). The effectiveness of self-centered therapy on increasing psychological well-being and reducing depression in the elderly. Journal of Aging Psychology, 4(3), 293-303. [Persian] Ghanbari-Moghadam A. (2014). Healthy lifestyle and general health status and their predictors among senior citizens in tehran. (M. Sc. Thesis), university of social welfare rehabilitation sciences. Heidari, M., & Ghodusi, M. (2015). Comparative self efficacy in elderly and non-elderly residents of family and nursing home in Shahrekord. Journal of Geriatric Nursing, 1(2), 68-78. [Persian] Hosseini, R. S., Momtaz, Y.A, Mohammadi Shabalaghi, F., Soroush, M. R., & Delbari, A. (2019). Physical and Mental Health Status and Its Related Demographic Factors in Martyr\'s Elderly Parents: A Case Study of Tehran City. Iranian Journal of War and Public Health, 11(4), 207-216. [Persian] Hosseininia, N., & Hatami, H. (2019). Anticipating retirees' quality of life based on mental well-bing and resiliency. Knowledge & Research in Applied Psychology, 20(1), 81-97. [Persian] https://www.amar.org.ir (1396). Population and Housing Census Results1395. From https://www.amar.org.ir Joshua, A. M., Cotroneo, A., & Clarke, S. (2005). Humor and oncology. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 23(3), 645-648. Khoshnou, H. (2015). The effect of back massageon on sleep quality among the residents of loghman nursing homes , bandar abbas. (M. Sc. Thesis), Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Science University. [Persian] Martin, R. A. (2001). Humor, laughter, and physical health: methodological issues and research findings. Psychological bulletin, 127(4), 504-519. Martin, R. A. (2010). The psychology of humor: An integrative approach. Elsevier. Academic Press publications visit our. McGhee, l. (2010). Humor as Survival Training for a Stressed-Out World: The 7 Humor Habits Program. https://www.amazon.com/Humor-Survival-Training-Stressed-Out-World/dp/1452021813 Mirseifi Fard,S ., Fatollahzadeh L. N., Rostami M., & Darbani A S. (2017). The Effectiveness of Humor Training on Social Phobia Symptoms. Developmental Psychology: Iranian Psychologist, 14(53), 75-85. [Persian] Mohammadi, M., & Kraskian-Mujembari, A. (2014). Determine the Psychometric Properties of Need for Humor Scale. Journal of Psychological Research, 6(24), 86-72. [Persian] Moran, C. C. (1996). Short-term mood change, perceived funniness, and the effect of humor stimuli. Behavioral Medicine, 22(1), 32-38. Morse, L. A., Xiong, L., Ramirez-Zohfeld, V., Anne, S., Barish, B., & Lindquist, L. A. (2018). Humor doesn’t retire: Improvisation as a health-promoting intervention for older adults. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics, 75, 1-5. Mortazavi, S.S, Eftekhar H, Mohamad K, & Dorali R. (2011). Assessing the mental health status of elderly in Shahrekord and relationship with sociodemographic factors. Health Monitor Journal of the Iranian Institute for Health Sciences Research, 10(4), 485-492. [Persian] Pasandideh, R., & Abolmaali, Kh. (2017). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on increasing well-being. Journal of Thought and Behavior, 41(11), 7-16. [Persian] Topp, C. W., Østergaard, S. D, Søndergaard, S., & Bech, P. (2015). The WHO-5 well-being index: A Systematic review of the literature. Psychother Psychosom,84(3), 167–76. Pourabdol, S., Abbasi, M., Pirani, Z., & Abbasi, M. (2015). The relationship between life expectancy and psychological well-being with quality of life in the elderly. Journal of Aging Psychology, 1(1), 57-65. [Persian] Proyer, RT, & Wolf, A. (2017). Humor and well-being. Martin Luther university Halle-wittenberg, Halle. Germany: Elsevier Inc. Qanbarpanah, I. (2013). Investigation of the group reminiscence effects on cognitive abilities of mild cognitive impaired elders of “jahandidegan-e-shiraz” institute. (Master Thesis), university of welfare and rehabilitation sciences. Rajabi, F., & Aslami, A. (2018). The effectiveness of life skills training on psychological well-being and happiness of older women. Journal of Aging Psychology, 4(4), 165-178. [Persian] Rostam-Beygi, P, Roshandel, A, Safavi, M, & Malmir, M. (2011). The Effect of Humor Training on the Level of Anxiety in Nursing Students of the University of Estahban. Aflak Quarterly Journal, 12(22,23), 26-35. [Persian] Sadeghi, M., & Bavazin, F. (2019). Loneliness in the elderly: Prediction based on mental wellbeing, psychological capital and spiritual intelligence. Journal of Aging Psychology, 5(1), 41-51. [Persian] Sadri-Damirchi, E., Akbari, T., Mojarad, A., & Behbuei, S. (2019). The role of stroop performance in predicting sleep quality and quality of life in the elderly. Salmand: Iranian Journal of Ageing, 13(5), 564-575.[Persian] Salman, A., & Lee, Y. (2019). Spiritual practices and effects of spiritual well-being and depression on elders' self-perceived health. Applied Nursing Research, 48, 68-74. [Persian] Shams, S., Hashemian, K., & Shafiabadi, A. (2008). The effectiveness of humor training method on hopelessness and social adjustment of depressed students in tehran. Quarterly Journal of New Thoughts in Educational Sciences, 3(1), 81-99. [Persian] Stieger, S., Formann, A. K., & Burger, C. (2011). Humor styles and their relationship to explicit and implicit self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(5), 747-750. Wu, Ch., Liu, Y., Kuo, Ch., Chen, H., & Chang, Y. (2016). Effectiveness of humor training among adolescents with autism. Psychiatry research, 246, 25-31. Yazdanfar, M., Manshai, Gh., Aghah-Haris., M., Alipour, A., & Nourbaala, A. (2016). The effectiveness of written emotional disclosure training in increasing psychological well-being and improving the quality of life of patients with psychosomatic disorders. Journal of Research and Health, 5(1), 35-41. [Persian] Zaeri-Amirani, M., Pourshahryari, M, & Behpajuoh, A. (2016). The impact of humor training on marital adjustment and psychological well-being in female teachers in ardestsn city. Psychological Studies Faculty of Education and Psychology, Alzahra University, 12(1), 85-106. [Persian