The Functions of Nostalgia for Well-being in Older Adults Michelle Fawn Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) School of Psychology Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
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The Functions of Nostalgia for Well-being in Older Adults
Michelle Fawn
Submitted for the Degree of
Doctor of Psychology(Clinical Psychology)
School of PsychologyFaculty of Health and Medical Sciences
University of SurreyGuildford, SurreyUnited KingdomSeptember 2018
Abstract
Objective: To explore whether nostalgia, a bittersweet emotion
characterised by sentimental longing for the past, can improve well-being in
older adults and buffer against threats to well-being in this population.
Design: A between-subjects experimental design was conducted with
random group assignment for participants to recall either a nostalgic
memory or an ordinary memory (control group). Ryff & Keyes (1995)
Psychological Well-being factors and Life Satisfaction were measured post-
intervention and potential threats to wellbeing: loneliness, time-limitedness,
and activity levels were measured pre-intervention. Participants: 161 older
adults (age 65 years and above) completed the questionnaire on paper or via
an internet survey and 132 were able to be used in data analysis. They were
recruited through opportunity sample from local community groups and
residential homes in England with the majority being White British, retired
and living independently alone or with a partner.
Results: Method of survey completion (paper vs. online) was found to
represent different sub-populations of the sample and to have a significant
impact upon findings. Well-being (both life satisfaction and scales of
psychological well-being (total, environmental mastery and self-acceptance)
was significantly higher for older adults in the nostalgia condition
comparative to control (for those who completed the questionnaire online).
Nostalgia was found to buffer against loneliness to protect well-being (for
those who completed the questionnaire on paper).
Conclusions: This research partly supports the beneficial effects of nostalgia
specifically in older adult populations. Future research can build upon the
Page 2 of 174
findings of this study, in particular, recruiting older adults experiencing high
levels of threats to well-being such as loneliness. Should a body of literature
begin to form around the benefits of nostalgia in older adults, this
population could be supported to not just be living longer, but also to be
living a better quality of life.
Page 3 of 174
Acknowledgements
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the individuals that
have supported me in completing my Major Research Project. In particular
all of the people who took the time to complete my questionnaire and the
organisations who supported me in gaining participants. A special thank you
goes to my two inspiring and supportive supervisors, Dr Erica Hepper and
Dr Bob Patton. You both kept my passion alive and showed so much trust,
helping me follow this project through from start to finish.
I would like to thank all of the people who supported me throughout my
three years of training, through the assignments, placements, the challenges
and the celebrations. I couldn’t have survived this intense period of
development without my touchstone, Joe, and my family and friends for
their unwavering support and encouragement. I would like to thank all of
my clinical supervisors throughout each placement who pushed me and
reminded me of my existing strengths. My clinical tutor Dr Vikky Petch and
my amazing mentor Dr Kim Freeman for being ever present and available in
times of need. Each of you have supported, encouraged and pushed me to
develop and grow; because of you all I am now ready to take on this new
role as a Clinical Psychologist.
Contents
Page 4 of 174
Abstract...........................................................................................................2
Acknowledgements........................................................................................4
Part 1 - Empirical Paper..................................................................................6
Abstract.......................................................................................................7
Introduction.................................................................................................9
Method......................................................................................................20
Results.......................................................................................................27
Discussion.................................................................................................41
References.................................................................................................57
List of Appendices....................................................................................71
Part 2 - Literature Review..........................................................................106
Abstract...................................................................................................107
Introduction.............................................................................................108
Method....................................................................................................117
Results.....................................................................................................121
Discussion...............................................................................................152
References...............................................................................................159
Part 3 – Clinical Experience.......................................................................170
Part 4 - Assessments...................................................................................172
Page 5 of 174
Part 1 - Empirical PaperThe Functions of Nostalgia for Well-
being in Older Adults
Word Count: 9,986
Page 6 of 174
Journal of Choice: Journal of Aging StudiesRationale: This journal is interested in papers exploring ageing experience and related to the broader categories of the social and behavioural sciences. It accepts empirical papers of this nature and appears to be a good fit for this study due to its focus on ageing experience as well as being situated within a social psychology literature. The scope and impact factor of the journal are strong supporting a good reach for this empirical paper if it were to be published in this journal.
Abstract
Objective: To explore whether nostalgia, a bittersweet emotion
characterised by sentimental longing for the past, can improve well-being in
older adults and buffer against threats to well-being in this population.
Design: A between-subjects experimental design was conducted with
random group assignment for participants to recall either a nostalgic
memory or an ordinary memory (control group). Ryff & Keyes (1995)
Psychological Well-being factors and Life Satisfaction were measured post-
intervention and potential threats to wellbeing: loneliness, time-limitedness,
and activity levels were measured pre-intervention. Participants: 161 older
adults (age 65 years and above) completed the questionnaire on paper or via
an internet survey and 132 were able to be used in data analysis. They were
recruited through opportunity sample from local community groups and
residential homes in England with the majority being White British, retired
and living independently alone or with a partner.
Results: Method of survey completion (paper vs. online) was found to
represent different sub-populations of the sample and to have a significant
impact upon findings. Well-being (both life satisfaction and scales of
psychological well-being (total, environmental mastery and self-acceptance)
was significantly higher for older adults in the nostalgia condition
comparative to control (for those who completed the questionnaire online).
Nostalgia was found to buffer against loneliness to protect well-being (for
those who completed the questionnaire on paper).
Conclusions: This research partly supports the beneficial effects of nostalgia
specifically in older adult populations. Future research can build upon the
Page 7 of 174
findings of this study, in particular, recruiting older adults experiencing high
levels of threats to well-being such as loneliness. Should a body of literature
begin to form around the benefits of nostalgia in older adults, this
population could be supported to not just be living longer, but also to be
living a better quality of life.
Page 8 of 174
Introduction
The older adult population in the UK is increasing each year, to the
extent that adults over 65 years old now represent 17.7% of the population
and there are more people aged 90 years and above than ever before (Office
for National Statistics (ONS), 2016). However, although people are living
longer, due to the difficulties associated with ageing: physical (Depp, Vahia,
& Jeste, 2010; Minaker, 2012), psychological (Ferrucci, 2008; Raz,
Ghisletta, Rodrigue, Kennedy, & Lindenberger, 2010; Thambisetty et al.,
2010) and social (Golden et al., 2009; Luo, Hawkley, Waite, & Cacioppo,
2012), they are not living better. More than half of the adult social care
budget is being spent on older adults and yet still 800,000 older adults are
going without the care they need (Age UK, 2014; Audit Commission,
2013).This ageing population are placing additional pressure on the scant
resources of the National Health Service (NHS). In light of the above,
research has begun to explore factors that might improve well-being in older
adults. This research aims to examine one promising but little-explored
factor: nostalgia - a bittersweet emotion evoked when reflecting on positive
past memories (Hepper, Ritchie, Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2012). The
prevalence and unique functions of nostalgia (as a meaning-generating
resource, to increasing feelings of connection with others and self-
continuity), as well as its ability to buffer against threats to these factors,
seem to suggest that it may be beneficial for older adults (Sedikides,
Wildschut, & Baden, 2004). In order to conduct research exploring how
older adults can age well, it is important to understand how well-being is
Page 9 of 174
conceptualised in older adults and what threats to well-being commonly
occur in this life stage.
Well-being in older adults
There are two ways to approach understanding well-being:
exploring conceptualisations of well-being specific to older adults and
looking at methods of understanding well-being across the lifespan.
Successful ageing and quality of life are the two key approaches in the
literature to conceptualising well-being in older adults specifically. These
literatures look beyond longevity of life to understand what constitutes a
‘successful’ life in old age. Although a large proportion of the successful
ageing literature focuses on biomedical approaches, understanding
successful ageing as the absence of mental or physical ailments (Depp et al.,
2010), the commonality between successful ageing and quality of life lies in
conceptualisations of the presence of positive factors such as emotional
stability and stimulation, resilience to stressors, life satisfaction, social
functioning, meaning in life, independence, positive environment, and self-
acceptance (Bowling & Dieppe, 2005; Depp et al., 2010; Halvorsrud &
Kalfoss, 2007). Maximising these positive factors has been found to
improve subjective quality of life more effectively than measures taken to
manage physical/mental health difficulties (Bowling & Iliffe, 2011).
In conceptualising well-being across the life span, there are three
main approaches: hedonic well-being, quality of life and eudaimonic well-
being. Hedonic well-being and quality of life look subjectively,
understanding well-being as increased happiness and reduced pain (Ryan &
Deci, 2001). They look at aspects of life that might positively or negatively
Page 10 of 174
impact upon an individual such as employment, wealth or education
(Burckhardt & Anderson, 2003). A key concept from the hedonic approach
to well-being is satisfaction with life, a subjective rating of overall
happiness with one’s life at one moment in time (Pavot & Diener, 2008).
Eudaimonic approaches focus more on the multi-dimensional nature of
well-being, defining well-being as the extent to which an individual is fully
functioning in terms of meaning and self-realisation (Ryan & Deci, 2001). A
dominant framework for understanding eudaimonic well-being across the
lifespan is Ryff and Keyes’ (1995) model of psychological well-being, made
up of six factors: personal growth, environmental mastery, autonomy,
purpose in life, positive relations and self acceptance. There appears to be
strong overlap between the eudaimonic approach to well-being and
conceptualisations of well-being specific to older adults explored above.
Therefore, it is important for both hedonic (satisfaction with life) and
eudaimonic approaches to well-being to be considered in conceptualisation
and operationalisation of well-being in this research.
Threats to well-being in older adults
Many theories and empirical studies have considered what factors
threaten well-being in the older adult population, considering psychological,
physical and social factors. In relation to physical factors, it is well
acknowledged that as we age, our physical and neurological health
deteriorates. Older adults are more likely to experience chronic conditions
such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, dementia and diabetes (Depp
et al., 2010; Minaker, 2012) and the American Psychological Association
(2017) found that 92% of older adults are living with a chronic condition,
Page 11 of 174
with 77% having two or more. The widespread nature of these chronic
difficulties are having a knock-on effect on the well-being of the older adult
population (Depp et al., 2010; Minaker, 2012). Although many predictors of
the development of these conditions are outside of individual control such as
genetics, other predictors such as diet, alcohol consumption, drug-use and
activity levels are changeable. Of these predictors, a review paper found that
activity levels have been well researched in relation to well-being in older
adults suggesting that high levels of exercise in older adults are protective
for well-being and low activity levels act as a threat to well-being (Penedo
& Dahn, 2005).
In relation to social factors, social isolation and bereavement are
considered significant threats to well-being in older adults. Older adults are
more likely to experience bereavement of close friends and loved ones,
leading to significant feelings of loss (Golden et al., 2009; Luo et al., 2012).
In addition, older adults are at increased risk of social isolation due to
factors such as retirement and reduction in meaningful activities and
mobility (Golden et al., 2009). However, research suggests that it is not the
presence of bereavement or a small social circle that directly threatens well-
being but it is the psychological experience of these circumstances that leads
to poor well-being, namely loneliness (Golden et al., 2009; Luo et al.,
2012). Loneliness has been repeatedly identified as a threat to well-being in
older adults and many interventions aim to improve well-being in older
adults through targeting loneliness such as Age UK’s campaign “no one
should have no one” (Age UK, n.d.).
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There are four dominant psychological theories of ageing in the
literature that shed light on the psychological factors that both threaten and
predict well-being in older adults: Lifespan Development Theory (P. Baltes
& Smith, 1990), Socio-emotional Selectivity Theory (Carstensen, 1992,
2006; Carstensen, Fung, & Charles, 2003), Gero-transcendence Theory
(Tornstam, 2005) and Disengagement Theory (Cumming & Henry, 1961).
All of these approaches are unified by the concept that to age well, our
psychology must shift in parallel to our physiology, allowing us to adapt to
the new challenges that arise with each life stage. For example: Social-
emotional Selectivity Theory (SST) (Carstensen, 1992, 2006; Carstensen et
al., 2003) states that in order to age well, our motivations should shift from
knowledge acquisition to emotionally meaningful experiences. This is in
order to manage the increasing awareness of the time-limited nature of life
that coincides with ageing. Therefore, SST hold that a key threat to well-
being in older adults is a sense of time-limitedness (Carstensen, 1992, 2006;
Carstensen et al., 2003). Two comprehensive reviews support SST,
illustrating the detrimental effect of death anxiety on well-being in older
adults (Charles & Carstensen, 2010; Fortner & Neimeyer, 1999).
Overall it appears that key threats to older adult well-being are a
sense of time-limitedness or death anxiety, loneliness and poor physical
health, contributed to by low activity levels. It is important to identify
psychological factors that promote well-being and enable older adults to
cope better with these threats; nostalgia is one possible candidate.
Reminiscence and Nostalgia
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In lay understandings, reminiscing and being nostalgic are concepts
that are often used interchangeably to talk about looking back fondly on the
past, with a tinge of longing. However, these lay understandings speak more
to empirical conceptualisations of nostalgia as opposed to reminiscence.
Reminiscence is defined as the cognitive ability that allows us to recall
events which support our everyday functioning (Sedikides, Wildschut, &
Baden, 2004). Although nostalgia fits under the umbrella of reminiscence, it
is a term to describe “a bittersweet, albeit predominantly positive, self-
relevant, and social emotion that arises when people reflect on personally
meaningful memories” (Hepper et al., 2012, pp.103). There has been
extensive research looking at the positive effects of reminiscence on well-
being in the form of reminiscence therapy (Bohlmeijer, Roemer, Cuijpers, &
Smit, 2007; Woods, Spector, Jones, Orrell, & Davies, 2005). However, the
mechanisms behind reminiscence therapy are poorly understood and it is
possible that the active ingredient for its success may be due to these
interventions evoking nostalgia (Cheston, Christopher, & Ismail, 2015).
Reminiscence and nostalgia can be distinguished in three ways:
affect, situation and the content of the memory. Firstly, nostalgia is a ‘hot’,
affective experience, evoking emotions of joy, happiness and connection,
whereas reminiscence, is not always affectively driven, being responsible
for more everyday memories too (Cavanaugh, 1989). Secondly,
reminiscence is mainly designed to aid our everyday executive functioning
through recall of past similar events (Sedikides et al., 2004; Wolf, 2014).
Nostalgia, on the other hand, is evoked in specific situations such as times
of external threat and is employed as a coping strategy (Sedikides et al.,
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2004) (further support reviewed below). Finally, memories recalled that
evoke nostalgia tend to be of high personal importance and have a social
element whereas memories recalled in reminiscence can also be negative or
somewhat trivial due to them being used to support everyday functioning
(Hepper et al., 2012; Sedikides et al., 2004).
Research to date has shown that nostalgia is predominately
characterised by positive feelings (Hepper et al., 2012; Wildschut,
Sedikides, Arndt, & Routledge, 2006). It is part of everyday life for the
majority of people, with a study finding that 79% of undergraduate students
experience nostalgia at least once a week (Wildschut et al., 2006). This has
been found to be true across cultures (Hepper et al., 2014, 2012). Nostalgia
has been studied in two ways; firstly, as ‘nostalgia proneness’ or ‘trait
nostalgia’, a stable individual difference of the extent to which nostalgia is
valued and engaged in (Routledge, Arndt, Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2008).
The Batcho Nostalgia Inventory (Batcho, 1995) and the Southampton
Nostalgia Scale (Routledge et al., 2008) were designed to measure this
construct. Research into nostalgia has also explored ‘state’ or ‘induced’
nostalgia where participants are encouraged to engage in the cognitive
process of being nostalgic in the experiment itself (Wildschut et al., 2006).
Research into nostalgia and its relationship to well-being has increased in
the past decade; nostalgia has been found to increase feelings of being
connected with others (Abeyta, Routledge, & Juhl, 2015; Zhou, Sedikides,
Wildschut, & Gao, 2008), increase a sense of meaning in life (Routledge,
Juhl, Abeyta, & Roylance, 2014; van Tilburg, Igou, & Sedikides, 2013), and
increase feelings of identity consistency (Sedikides, Wildschut, Routledge,
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& Arndt, 2015). For example participants in Stephan et al.’s study (2012)
found that those instructed to engage with a nostalgic memory reported
higher feelings of social connectedness and self-esteem as rated
immediately after recalling the memory comparative to those instructed to
recall an ordinary memory. Research has also found that nostalgia is called
upon at times of transition or unpleasant psychological states in order to
restore well-being (Sedikides et al., 2004; Wildschut et al., 2006), for
example: loneliness (Batcho, 2013; Routledge et al., 2011; Stephan et al.,
2012) or low self-continuity (Sedikides et al., 2015), therefore offering a
buffering effect for well-being too (Sedikides et al., 2016). It is thought that
by looking back on a positive memory from a time we felt more connected,
purposeful or more ourselves, we can draw on the feelings we experienced
to benefit our well-being in the here and now. For example Routledge et al.
(2011) induced threat to meaning in half of their participants, through an
essay invalidating their University experience, and participants were then
instructed to engage in either a nostalgic memory or an ordinary memory
(control). Their self-reported meaning in life was measured before and after
meaning threat. They found that participants in the control condition
experienced a significant reduction in self-rated meaning in life following
meaning threat; however, those who engaged with nostalgia showed no
significant differences illustrating the buffering effect of nostalgia against
meaning threat. Several individual differences factors have also been
explored to consider for whom is nostalgia most beneficial such as
attachment style (Wildschut, Sedikides, Routledge, Arndt, & Cordaro,
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2010), narcissism (Hart et al., 2011), and self-continuity (Sedikides et al.,
2015).
Nostalgia and Older Adults
No research to date has explored the relationship between nostalgia
and well-being in older adults specifically and very few studies have even
included older adults in their samples (Cheung, Sedikides, & Wildschut,
2016; Hepper, Robertson, Wildschut, Sedikides, & Routledge, 2016;
Routledge, Wildschut, Sedikides, Juhl, & Arndt, 2012; Sedikides et al.,
2016; Stephan et al., 2012). However, there are strong theoretical grounds
warranting research on nostalgia and well-being in older adults.
Firstly, research (largely in younger adult samples) has found that
nostalgia buffers against threats to well-being, specifically loneliness
(Hagan, Manktelow, Taylor, & Mallett, 2014; Pinquart & Sorensen, 2001;
Thomas, 2015; Zhou et al., 2008), threats to meaning in life such as a sense
of time limitedness (Hepper et al., 2016; Routledge et al., 2011; Synnes,
2015), boredom (van Tilburg et al., 2013), and even promotes activity to
reduce the impact on physical health difficulties (Kersten, Cox, & Van
Enkevort, 2016). As explored above, three of these threats have been
identified in the ageing literature as impacting upon well-being specifically
in older adults. It would stand to reason that if older adults are more likely
to experience these threats, they might be more likely to benefit from
opportunity to engage in nostalgia.
Secondly, research suggests that nostalgia proneness shows a U-
shaped relationship with age, with nostalgia being most prevalent in youth
and old age (Hepper et al., 2016; Wolf, 2014). Given what research suggests
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about nostalgia, that we call upon it as a resource when we are in difficult
periods, it is possible that older adults are naturally more nostalgic as they
have more need to call upon this resource (Sedikides et al., 2004).
Finally, psychological theories of ageing are supportive that
nostalgia might facilitate older adults in ageing well. For example: SST
states that to age well, a shift from knowledge acquisition to emotional
meaning must occur. Nostalgia has been found to be a tool through which
individuals can achieve emotional meaning, self-continuity and find a
purpose in life (Routledge et al., 2011, 2012; Sedikides et al., 2016) to
support this shift. Similarly, Gero-transcendence Theory (Tornstam, 2005)
states that to age successfully, older adults must shift from a materialistic
and rational perspective of life, towards a more transcendent and spiritual
one. Looking back on the past through nostalgia is known to be used as a
meaning generating resource, supporting individuals to view events as
interconnected and to feel a sense of narrative throughout their life
(Routledge et al., 2011, 2012; Synnes, 2015). It seems that nostalgia
therefore would be supporting of positive ageing in relation to Gero-
transcendence Theory too.
Overall, despite the lack of research in this population, there is
support that nostalgia could be highly beneficial for older adults as a tool to
improve well-being factors deemed important in old age and across the
lifespan and to buffer threats that are particularly pertinent in later life. It is
important to study these issues in order to improve quality of life in older
adults and combat the increasing demand being placed on NHS services due
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to the ageing population (Age UK, 2014; Audit Commission,
2013).Therefore, this research study has the following hypotheses.
Research Questions and Main Hypotheses
The two main aims of the current research were to understand,
firstly, whether nostalgia is beneficial for well-being in older adults and,
secondly, can nostalgia buffer against threats to well-being relevant to older
adults. In order to investigate these aims, a questionnaire-based,
experimental design was used to evoke either a nostalgia or control
manipulation in older adult participants, and the effect on well-being was
measured. In addition, levels of various threats to well-being (loneliness,
time-limitedness and activity levels) were measured prior to manipulation in
order to investigate whether nostalgia can have a buffering effect.
Three primary hypotheses were made. Firstly, that older adults in the
nostalgia condition would score significantly higher on the Ryff & Keyes
(1995) well-being dimensions and Satisfaction with Life (Pavot & Diener,
2008) than older adults in the control condition. Secondly, the association
between threats to well-being (loneliness (Russell, 1996)), sense of time-
limitedness (Cartensen & Lang, 1996) and low activity levels (Gill, Jones,
Zou, & Speechley, 2012) and well-being dimensions (Ryff & Keyes, 1995)
and Satisfaction with Life (Pavot & Diener, 2008) will be moderated by the
manipulation (nostalgia versus control). A final hypothesis was made that
nostalgia would moderate the relationship between specific threats to well-
being and specific aspects of the Ryff & Keyes (1995) well-being
constructs. Hypotheses were based upon theoretical links between threats
and well-being factors. It was hypothesised that the association between
Page 19 of 174
positive relations and loneliness, purpose in life and time-limitedness and
environmental mastery and activity levels will be moderated by the
manipulation.
MethodParticipants
G*Power analysis (power 0.8, medium effect) was used to estimate
the minimum sample size needed for all hypotheses: 128 (Faul, Erdfelder,
Buchner, & Lang, 2009). Individuals were approached for participation if
they were aged 65 years or above, chosen due to the clinical meaning this
age cut-off has in relation to NHS service design, and if they were fluent in
English. Participants were recruited from a variety of sources on a voluntary
basis including: residential homes, supported living accommodation,
University for the Third Age newsletters, Age UK meetings, amateur
dramatics groups and use of posters (see Appendix A). Six participants were
recruited through snowball sampling. Questionnaires could be completed on
paper or online, chosen by participants.
161 participants completed the study. 29 participants were removed
from the data set (see ‘Results’) leaving a total of 132 participants, 64 of
whom completed the questionnaire online and 68 on paper. Of the 132
participants, there was an average age of 76.24 years (SD=6.75, range 65.72
– 92.65) and 66.2% were female. The majority of participants were White
British (92.5%), retired (87.5%) and living with a partner or alone
independently (50.4% and 36.1% respectively) (see Table 1).
Design
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A between-subjects experimental design with random group
assignment was used where participants either engaged in a nostalgia
memory task or an ordinary memory task (control) and the effect on well-
being and life satisfaction was measured. Various controls and threats to
well-being were also measured to explore who might be most likely to
benefit from the manipulation. Data was collected via paper and online
questionnaire due to anticipated difficulties in gaining a diverse sample of
older adult participants through one method. Care was taken to minimise the
length of the questionnaire to maximise completion by participants. A pilot
study of three older adults was completed to check the appropriateness of
the questionnaire for the target population; changes were made based on
their comments prior to beginning data collection. The study gained
approval from the Research Governance Committee (see Appendix B) and
received favourable ethical opinion from the Faculty of Health and Medical
Sciences Ethics Committee at the University of Surrey (see Appendix C).
Page 21 of 174
Table 1: Demographic informationFr
equencyPerce
ntageLiving
SituationLiving alone
independently46 36.5
%Living with a partner
independently67 53.2
%Living with relatives 5 4.0%Living in supported
living accommodation3 2.4%
Living in a residential care setting
2 1.6%
Other 3 2.4%
Employment
Retired 110
87.3%
Part-time employed 7 5.6%Full time employed 5 4.0%Voluntary work 4 3.2%
Ethnicity White British 122
96.8%
White European 4 3.2%
Gender Male 41 32.5%
Female 85 67.5%
In order to ensure participants completing the questionnaire online
were of the capacity to consent to participating in the research study,
questions drawn from established methods of assessing capacity to consent
in research were asked at the start of the questionnaires (National Institutes
of Health, 2009; UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Centre, 2002). Participants
that did not correctly answer these questions did not proceed to the rest of
the questionnaire and therefore, were excluded from analyses. For
participants recruited through community groups, capacity was assumed if
they attend the group independently or sought from their carer if not
attending independently. For participants recruited through supported living
accommodation, the manager of the accommodation was approached and
asked which residents could be approached for participation given their
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knowledge of the individual and whether there have been previous capacity
assessments undertaken.
Measures
Independent Variable (Manipulation):
Participants were randomly assigned to a State Nostalgia condition
or an Ordinary Autobiographical Memory condition and asked to engage in
the Event Reflection Task (Sedikides et al., 2016). This gives instructions
prompting participants to recall a nostalgic or everyday memory and write a
short paragraph on it; this task has been validated as an induction of state
nostalgia and used extensively in the nostalgia literature (Wildschut et al.,
2006). Two manipulation checks were included. The first was a three-
question manipulation check which is extensively used in the literature
(Hepper et al., 2014, 2016; Sedikides et al., 2016). It asks participants
questions such as ‘I am nostalgic at the moment’. However, these studies
often place the manipulation check straight after the manipulation which is
likely to lead to demand characteristics. To eliminate such bias, the
manipulation check was placed later in the questionnaire to prevent
participants from seeing the word nostalgia until the end of the
questionnaire. The second manipulation check explored whether unique
aspects of nostalgia were engaged in over and above reminiscence. These
questions were designed based upon differences identified by Sedikides,
Wildschut and Baden (2004) and asked “to what extent was the memory
recalled: personally relevant, important, emotive and social” (1 = not at all,
7 = very much).
Dependent Variables (DVs):
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Well-being was measured using the 42-item Scales of Psychological
Well-being (SPWB) (made up of autonomy, environmental mastery,
personal growth, purpose in life, self acceptance and positive relations)
(Ryff & Keyes, 1995) and the 5 item Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)
(Pavot & Diener, 1993, 2008). The SPWB included items such as ‘I feel
confident and positive in myself’, measured on a five-point scale. The
SWLS included items such as ‘I feel satisfied with my life’, also measured
on a five-point scale. Both were chosen due to their reliability (SPWB α
=.90 average across scales and SWLS α =.79 to 89) and validity as a
measure of well-being and relevance to the older adult successful ageing
literature (Pavot & Diener, 2008; Ryff & Keyes, 1995). A few items on
these measures were changed to reflect the state nature of the questionnaire
and the desire to measure the effect of the manipulation specifically (e.g.
removing the terms “in general” from a specific item).
Threats to Well-being:
Three potential threats to well-being (loneliness, sense of time-
limitedness and activity levels) were measured to explore the potential for
nostalgia to offer a buffering effect. Loneliness was measured using the
UCLA Loneliness Scale, a reliable (α =.89 to .94) and valid 20-item
measure (Russell, 1996; Russell, Peplau, & Ferguson, 1978), including
items such as ‘I lack companionship’ rated on a four-point scale. Sense of
time-limitedness was measured using the Rappaport Time Line, a line from
‘birth’ to ‘death’ where participants are instructed to put a cross or click on
the place where they thought they were currently on the scale (Rappaport,
Enrich, & Wilson, 1985). The mark on the line is measured as a form of
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scoring to allow comparison. This measure has been used successfully in
other studies similar to this in design (Demiray & Bluck, 2014). To measure
activity levels whilst aiming to reduce the size of the whole questionnaire, a
single item measure of activity was used that maintains high reliability and
validity (Gill et al., 2012). This asks participants “Compared to other people
your own age, do you think you are . . . (followed by five options) much
more active, more active, about as active, less active or much less active.
Controls Applied:
Information about participant demographic characteristics (age,
gender, ethnicity, employment status and accommodation type) was
measured to consider the generalisability of findings and as potential
controls. These measures were completed by all participants. Subscales for
mental health (MH5) and physical health (GH5) from the Short Form Health
Survey (SF-36) were measured due to the known influence of mental and
physical health on well-being in older adults (Ware & Sherbourne, 1992).
These subscales were chosen for their length and reliability (α =.84) and
validity for measuring the constructs (McCabe, Thomas, Brazier, &
Coleman, 1996).
Trait levels of nostalgia were measured due to the potential influence
on engagement with the manipulation and impact upon overall well-being
(Routledge et al., 2014; Seehusen et al., 2013). Trait nostalgia was measured
using the Southampton Nostalgia Scale (SNS) (Barrett et al., 2010), a 7-item
self-report measure including items such as ‘how valuable is nostalgia to
you?’ rated using a 7-point scale (α = .70). This was placed at the end of the
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whole survey due to the effect seeing the word nostalgia prior to the
manipulation might have on findings.
The Positive and Negative Affective Scale (PANAS) is a 20-item
measure with high reliability (PA α = .89, NA α = .85) and validity in an
older adult population (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). It was used to
assess how the manipulation influences affect in older adults.
Procedure
Participants were given a questionnaire pack or a link to complete
the questionnaire online. They were presented with information in the
following order and using the questionnaires outlined in ‘Measures’ (see
Appendix D). They were first presented with an information sheet and
consent form. Following this, they were asked about demographic
characteristics (gender and ethnicity) and potential variables that might need
controlling for (age, employment status, living situation, physical and
mental health). Then, they completed the questionnaires measuring threats
to well-being: loneliness, sense of time-limitedness and activity levels. At
this point, participants were instructed to either engage in a nostalgia or
control memory task and to write keywords and a description of their
memory. Following this, they completed measures of positive and negative
affect, well-being and life satisfaction. At the end of the questionnaire,
participants completed the two manipulation checks and a measure of
nostalgia proneness. The later was included after the intervention to avoid
demand characteristics for the control group of seeing the word nostalgia
prior to measuring well-being. The last measure of the questionnaire was a
mood repair which was included as research suggests that completing a
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question such as ‘list three things you are grateful for in your life’
contributes towards protecting participants from any distress caused as a
consequence of completing the questionnaire and leaves participants with a
feeling of increased mood at the end of the study (Emmons & McCullough,
2003). Participants had the opportunity to opt in to hear about the study
findings and for snowball sampling. For participants completing the
questionnaire on paper a full debrief was sent following return of the
questionnaires (Appendix F). Participants who completed the questionnaire
online were shown the debrief following completion of the questionnaire.
Approach to Analysis
All participant information was retrieved from the online survey and
information from paper questionnaires was inputted into SPSS in the same
format. Outliers were removed and total scores were computed for all
measures. The data was checked as to whether it met the assumptions
necessary for planned analyses, i.e. normality, and the reliability of
measures was checked. Descriptive and preliminary analyses were
completed followed by tests for each hypothesis in order.
ResultsPreliminary Analyses
One hundred and sixty one participants completed the questionnaire.
Following data input, 18 were removed due to not completing the
manipulation or having written a message directly to the researcher. 10 were
removed for not correctly answering the consent questions and 1 due to
being below the age of 65 years. The final data set contained 132
participants; 64 completed the questionnaire online (68 on paper) and 67
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completed the nostalgia manipulation (65 the control). Participants with
missing data were included in analyses provided the manipulation had been
completed. The item measuring Future Time Perspectives was not
successfully administered for participants completing the questionnaire
online due to technical issues, therefore analyses included this measure are
limited to paper questionnaires only.
All variables met assumptions of normality (using +/- 1.96) required
for further analysis apart from the Loneliness, Emotional Health and
Negative Affect Scale variables which were skewed (see Appendix G). No
outliers were identified. The loneliness variable was transformed using a
logarithmic transformation. For the NAS and Emotional Health variables,
non-parametric equivalents were used due to suitable non-parametric
equivalents being available for analyses including these variables. All
measures had high levels of internal consistency (see Table 2).
Table 2: Reliability ChecksType of Measure Measure
Cronbach's Alpha
Dependent Variables Scales of Psychological Well-being (42 item) 0.906
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Satisfaction with Life 0.880Moderator - Loneliness UCLA Loneliness Scale 0.942
Controls Short Form Health Survey SF36 (MH5 and PH5) 0.771
Positive and Negative Affect Scale 0.863
Southampton Nostalgia Scale 0.714
State Nostalgia Manipulation Check 0.954Average of Memory Ratings (Emotive, Social, Personally Relevant and Important) 0.820
Differences between groups
An independent samples t-test was run to explore whether the two
manipulation groups (nostalgia versus control) significantly differ based
upon any of the controls (physical health, emotional health, positive and
negative affect and trait nostalgia) or threats to well-being (loneliness, sense
of time-limitedness and activity levels). There was a significant difference
between groups based upon levels of trait nostalgia with those in the
nostalgia condition scoring higher on trait nostalgia than those in the control
group (see Table 3). These differences may be due to the measure of trait
nostalgia having been completed after the intervention. This was done in
order to avoid demand characteristics in the control group, in seeing the
word nostalgia prior to the intervention and dependent variables. However,
it may have led those in the nostalgia condition to rate nostalgia as more
personally valuable. No other significant differences between groups were
found.
Table 3: Demographic information comparing Mean and SD for Nostalgia and Control Groups by Controls and Threats to well-being
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Variable N Mean
Std. Deviation T value Df
Positive Affect
Nostalgia 67.00 3.49 1.01 1.34 128.00Control 63.00 3.25 0.97
Negative Affect
Nostalgia 66.00 1.17 0.24 -0.59 126.00Control 62.00 1.20 0.37
Physical Health
Nostalgia 67.00 32.43 18.82 0.37 130.00Control 65.00 31.19 19.99
Emotional Health
Nostalgia 67.00 19.40 13.51 -0.35 130.00Control 65.00 20.31 15.72
Trait Nostalgia*
Nostalgia 66.00 4.09 1.06 2.13* 129.00Control 65.00 3.68 1.11
Loneliness Nostalgia 67.00 0.14 0.12 -0.21 130.00Control 65.00 0.14 0.13
Time-limitedness
Nostalgia 33.00 8.19 0.94 1.39 66.00Control 35.00 7.65 2.04
Activity Levels
Nostalgia 67.00 3.84 0.98 1.66 130.00Control 65.00 3.54 1.08
*p<0.05
Manipulation Checks
An independent samples t-test was run to see whether state nostalgia
manipulation (manipulation check) significantly differed based on the
manipulation, nostalgia (M=2.75, SD=1.13) versus control (M=2.48,
SD=0.96). No significant difference was found, t(128)=1.458, p=.147.
An independent sample t-test revealed that participants in the
nostalgia condition rated their memory as significantly more emotive than
those in the control condition (see Table 4). There were no significant
differences between condition in the extent to which the memories were
rated as social, personally relevant, or important (see Table 4). An
independent sample t-test revealed that participants did not significantly
differ on the level of self-rated positive affect based on the manipulation
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(Nostalgia M=3.49, SD=1.01, Control M=3.25, SD=0.97), t(128)=1.338,
p=.183. Due to the assumption of normality not being met, a Mann-Whitney
U test revealed that participants did not significantly differ on the level of
self rated negative affect based upon manipulation, U=1975, p=.714.
Overall, it seems that the effect of the manipulation may have deteriorated
between the task and the manipulation check being completed. However,
the memories recalled in the nostalgia condition were significantly more
emotional than in the control.
Table 4: Independent sample t-test for nature of the memory
Nature of the Memory
Nostalgia Mean (SD)
Control Mean (SD) T Df p
Emotive 5.05 (1.77) 3.98 (1.90) 3.26 125 0.001
Social 4.65 (1.97) 4.90 (2.05) -0.71 126 0.48
Personally Relevant 5.79 (1.42) 5.38 (1.66 ) 1.51 125 0.135
Important 5.35 (1.63) 5.20 (1.67) 0.52 125 0.606
Exploratory Analyses - Method of Survey Completion
As the study recruited through different methods, completing the
questionnaire on paper and online, analyses examined whether the two sub-
samples significantly differed based upon demographic variables.
Categorical variables with more than two levels were coded into two levels:
living situation was coded into living in supported accommodation (15%) or
non-supported (82.7%) and employment status was coded into working
(9%) or retired (87.2%). Due to the lack of ethnic diversity in the sample
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(only 4 participants were not White British) this variable was not included
in analysis. A logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of
age, gender, employment and living situation on the likelihood of
participants completing the questionnaire on paper versus online.
The logistic regression model was statistically significant,
χ²(4)=71.06, p<.001. The model explained 57.8% (NagelkerkeR²) of the
variance in method of completing the questionnaire and correctly classified
78.4% of cases. Only age significantly contributed to the model,
Wald(1)=21.57, p=<.001, with increasing age being associated with an
increased likelihood of having completed the questionnaire on paper
(β=-.226, SE=.049). The remaining predictors were not significant (gender:
β=.089, p=.865, employment: β=-2.33, p=.055, living situation: β=-21.07,
p=.998). An independent sample t-test confirmed that those who completed
the questionnaires online (M=72.43, SD=4.95) were significantly younger
than those who completed the questionnaires on paper (M=79.99, SD=4.95),
t(120.083)=7.616, p<.001.
Next, any psychological differences between sub-samples were
examined. Independent samples t-tests showed that participants that
completed the questionnaire online compared to on paper, did not
significantly differ on general health, (Paper M=33.44, SD=18.40, Online
M=30.10, SD=20.29) t(130)=.990, p=.324, or trait nostalgia, (Paper
M=4.00, SD=1.19, Online M=3.77, SD=0.99) t(129)=1.244, p=.216.
Similarly, a Mann Whitney U test showed that the sub-samples did not
significantly differ based upon emotional health, U=2034, p=.515.
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Overall, there were some differences between the subsamples that
completed the survey online and that completed it on paper, most notably in
age, suggesting that they may represent two different populations.
Therefore, all future analyses included method of survey completion as a
covariate/moderator.
Hypothesis 1: Nostalgia will improve well-being and life satisfaction
To test the hypothesis that older adults in the nostalgia condition will
score significantly higher on the Ryff & Keyes (1995) scale of
psychological well-being than controls, an independent samples t-test was
conducted. There was no significant difference between nostalgia (M=4.42,
SD=.376) and control (M=4.36, SD=.42) groups based upon total well-
being, t(130)=.847, p=.40.
To explore this hypothesis accounting for the impact of method of
survey completion, 2 (nostalgia vs. control) x 2 (paper vs. online) ANOVA
was conducted on total well-being with method of survey completion
entered as a covariate. There was a significant interaction between
manipulation and method of survey completion on total well-being, F(1,
128)=5.85, p=.017, np₂=.044. Simple effects analyses showed that online
participants reported significantly higher well-being in the nostalgia (vs.
control) condition, F(1, 128)=5.322, p=.023, np₂=.04 (see Table 5).
However, paper participants did not, F(1, 128)=1.198, p=.276, np₂=.009.
There was no significant main effect of method on total well-being, F(1,
128)=.769, p=.382, np₂=.006. For completeness, a multiple regression model
using PROCESS in SPSS (Hayes, 2013) was run to investigate whether age
moderated the effect of manipulation on well-being which it did not,
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B=0.18, SEb=0.11, t=1.72, p=.089. Method of survey completion was not
controlled.
In exploring the six well-being factors (personal growth, self
acceptance, environmental mastery, autonomy, positive relations and
purpose in life), an ANOVA was conducted. There were no significant
differences in well-being factors based upon the manipulation (autonomy:
F(1, 128)=0.073, p=.79, environmental mastery: F(1, 128)=3.48, p=.064,
personal growth: F(1, 128)=0.545, p=.462, positive relations: F(1,
128)=0.361, p=.549, purpose in life: F(1, 128)=0.061, p=.806, self
acceptance: F(1, 128)=0.346, p=.558). To account for the impact of method
of survey completion, a MANOVA was conducted. No well-being factors
significantly differed based on manipulation (autonomy: F(1, 128)=0.149,
p=.70, environmental mastery: F(1, 128)=3.56, p=.61, personal growth: F(1,
128)=0.545, p=.462, positive relations: F(1, 128)=0.389, p=.534, purpose in
life: F(1, 128)=0.039, p=.845, self acceptance: F(1, 128)=0.480, p=.489).
Environmental mastery significantly differed based on method of
completing the questionnaire, F(1, 128)=4.287, p=.040, np₂=.032, with
online participants (M=4.331, SE=0.45) reporting significantly higher
environmental mastery than paper participants (M=4.184, SE=.044). There
were significant interactions between manipulation and method of survey
completion on autonomy (F(1, 128)=4.405, p=.038, np₂=.033),
environmental mastery (F(1, 128)=5.160, p=.025, np₂=.039) and self
acceptance (F(1, 128)=8.227, p=.005, np₂=.060). Simple effects analyses
showed that online participants reported significantly higher levels of
environmental mastery, (F(1, 128)=8.383, p=.004, np₂=.061) and self
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acceptance (F(1, 128)=6.146, p=.014, np₂=.046) and non-significantly higher
autonomy (F(1, 128)=2.992, p=.086, np₂=.023) in the nostalgia condition
than control. In contrast, paper participants reported non-significantly
different autonomy (F(1, 128)=1.514, p=.221, np₂=.012), environmental
mastery (F(1, 128)=.076, p=.783, np₂=.001) and self acceptance (F(1,
128)=2.443, p=.120, np₂=.019) in the control and nostalgia conditions. The
interaction for personal growth (F(1, 128)=2.144, p=.146), positive relations
(F(1, 128)=3.262, p=.073) and purpose in life (F(1, 128)=.421, p=.518 were
non-significant.
An independent samples t-test was conducted for life satisfaction
and manipulation. There were no significant differences between the
nostalgia (M=3.55, SD=.651) and control (M=3.47, SD=.879) groups in
terms of life satisfaction, t(128)=.59, p=.557. An equivalent 2x2 ANOVA
was conducted for life satisfaction to account for method of survey
completion. There was a significant interaction effect on the relationship
between life satisfaction and manipulation, F(1, 126)=5.777, p=.018,
np₂=.044. Simple effects analyses showed that online participants reported
significantly higher life satisfaction in the nostalgia condition than control,
F(1, 126)=4.374, p=.038, np₂=.034 (see Table 4). However paper
participants reported non-significantly different life satisfaction based on
manipulation, F(1, 126)=1.694, p=.195, np₂=.013. There was no significant
effect of method of survey completion on life satisfaction, F(1, 126)=.914,
p=.341, np₂=.007.
Table 5: Means, standard errors and significance for dependent variables analysed in hypothesis 1 from interaction between manipulation and method of completing the questionnaire.
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Online PaperDependent Variables
Nostalgia M(SE)
Control M(SE)
Nostalgia M(SE)
Control M(SE)
Total Well-being 4.532 (.067)*4.306 (.072)* 4.307 (.068) 4.411 (.066)
Autonomy 4.349 (.089) 4.124 (.095) 4.252 (.090) 4.407 (.088)Environmental mastery 4.462 (.062)*
4.200 (.066)* 4.172 (.063) 4.196 (.061)
Personal growth 4.707 (.088) 4.510 (.094) 4.482 (.089) 4.547 (.087)
Positive Relations 4.681 (.087) 4.467 (.092) 4.451 (.088) 4.555 (.085)
Purpose in life 4.601 (.095)4.519 (0.101) 4.389 (.097) 4.433 (.094)
Self acceptance 4.391 (.104)*4.014 (.111)* 4.095 (.106) 4.325 (.102)
Life satisfaction 3.765 (.130)*3.367 (.139)* 3.316 (.136) 3.765 (.130)
* p<.05
Hypothesis 2: Nostalgia will moderate the relationship between well-
being and threats to well-being
Hypothesis two explores whether nostalgia can buffer the
associations between threats and well-being, specifically: loneliness, a sense
of time limitedness, and low activity levels. For all analyses a multiple
regression model using PROCESS in SPSS (Hayes, 2013) was run for each
threat variable predicting total well-being, life satisfaction or specific well-
being variables, whereby predictors were condition, threat and all
interactions. Analyses were completed first without method of survey
completion as a predictor/covariate and then with this variable included.
Total Well-being
There was no significant interaction between manipulation and
loneliness on well-being when method of survey completion was not
included as a predictor, B=-0.789, SEb=.479, t(132)=-1.64, p=.102. There
was a significant interaction between the manipulation and loneliness on
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well-being (see Table 6). Figure 1 plots the simple slopes for the interaction.
For online participants the association between loneliness and well-being
was negative and significant regardless of condition (Nostalgia: Loneliness
levels 0.02 and 0.14, p<.001, Control: Loneliness levels 0.14 and 0.27,
p<.001). However, for paper participants, the association between loneliness
and well-being was significant and negative for those in the control
condition (B=0.14 and B=0.27, p<.001) but non-significant in the nostalgia
condition (B=0.02 and B=0.14, p=.251).
Table 6: Coefficient, standard error, t value, p value and confidence intervals for PROCESS analysis with Well-being average and intervention with loneliness as moderator variable and method of completing the survey as covariate.
Co-efficient (b)Standard Error t value
p value
constant 3.25 0.44 7.37 >.001
Loneliness 4.65 2.27 2.05 0.04*
Manipulation 0.72 0.28 2.62 0.01*
Manipulation*Loneliness -3.46 1.44 -2.40 0.02*
Method of survey completion 0.86 0.29 2.99 0.00*Loneliness*Method of survey completion -0.45 0.18 -2.44 0.02*Method of survey completion*Manipulation -3.56 1.58 -2.25 0.03*Manipulation*Method of survey completion*Loneliness 1.90 0.98 1.93 0.06
*p<.05 is significant.
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Figure 1: Simple slopes plot for the interaction effect of manipulation on
loneliness and well-being, controlling for method of survey completion.
To further understand the interaction the Process model was re-run
entering loneliness as the moderator to examine the effect of condition on
well-being at different levels of loneliness (see Figure 1). For the majority
of participants the manipulation was non-significant. Low loneliness was
0.02 (1 SD below the mean) and high loneliness was 0.27 (1 SD above the
mean). For online participants, the effect of condition and well-being was
non-significant regardless of levels of loneliness (High loneliness, t(124)=-
0.65, p=0.519, low loneliness, t(124)=-1.29, p=0.201). This was the same
for paper participants at high levels of loneliness, t(124)=-1.27, p=0.206.
However, for paper participants at low levels of loneliness, the association
between condition and well-being was positive and significant, t(124)=2.23,
p=0.027.
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To explore the extent to which a sense of time limitedness and
activity levels moderate the association between manipulation and well-
being, time limitedness and activity levels were entered as moderators
respectively. Due to technical error, only participants that completed the
questionnaire on paper were able to be included in analyses involving time
limitedness and therefore method of study completion was only included in
analyses for activity levels. There was no significant interaction between the
manipulation and time limitedness (B=0.12, SEb=.075, t=1.61, p=.113) or
activity levels on well-being when method of survey completion was
included as a covariate (B=-0.063, SEb=.226, t=-0.276, p=.783) and when it
was not (B=-0.062, SEb=.066, t=-0.932, p=.353).
Hypothesis 3: The relationship between specific threats to well-being
and well-being factors will be moderated by the manipulation
Targeted analyses were conducted for specific well-being variables
that theoretically relate to specific threats: positive relations and loneliness,
purpose in life and time limitedness, and environmental mastery and activity
levels. These pairings were selected prior to data collected given strong
theoretical or empirical support for their associations. The same analytic
approach was used to explore the following four hypotheses as for overall
well-being above.
Positive Relations and Loneliness
There was no significant interaction between loneliness and the
relationship between manipulation and positive relations (Method of survey
completion included: B=-1.10, SEb=1.68, t=-0.65, p=.515, Without: B=-
0.236, SEb=.542, t=-0.435, p=.664).
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Purpose in life and Sense of Time Limitedness
There was no significant moderation effect of sense of time
limitedness on the relationship between manipulation and purpose in life
(B=0.13, SEb=0.11, t=1.20, p=.233).
Environmental mastery and Activity Levels
There was no significant moderation effect of activity levels on the
relationship between manipulation and environmental mastery (Method of
survey completion included: B=0.17, SEb=0.20, t=-0.85, p=.400, Without:
B=0.073, SEb=.061, t=1.203, p=.231).
Life satisfaction Analyses
There was no significant interaction between the manipulation and
loneliness (Method of survey completion included: B=-1.35, SEb=3.10, t=-
0.44, p=.663, Without: B=-1.315, SEb=1.009, t=-1.304, p=.194), or sense of
time limitedness (B=-0.04, SEb=0.15, t=-0.26, p=.794) on life satisfaction.
However, there was a significant interaction between manipulation and
activity levels on life satisfaction when method of survey completion was
not included as a covariate, B=0.273, SEb=.127, t=2.152, p=.033 (Method
of survey completion included: B=0.74, SEb=0.45, t=1.65, p=.101).
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Figure 2:
Simple slopes plot for the interaction effect of manipulation on activity levels and life
satisfaction.
Figure 2 plots the simple slopes for the interaction (activity levels:
1=subjectively less exercise than peers, 5=subjectively more exercise than
peers). There was a significant positive relationship between life satisfaction
and activity levels for those in the control group, t(130)=3.94, p<0.01.
However, this was not significant for the nostalgia group, t(130)=0.672,
p=0.503. This suggests that nostalgia is able to moderate the relationship
between activity levels and life satisfaction to protect against low activity
levels.
DiscussionThe proportion of the U.K. population that are aged 65 years and
above is growing, with people living longer than ever before (ONS, 2016).
It is important to understand how to support adults to maintain their well-
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being as they grow older and face the challenges associated with ageing
(Depp et al., 2010; Minaker, 2012; Thambisetty et al., 2010). This study
explored a potential factor that has been well evidenced to benefit well-
being in working age adults, that might be beneficial for well-being in older
adults: nostalgia. This study aimed to investigate whether nostalgia is
beneficial for well-being in older adults and whether nostalgia can buffer
against threats to well-being relevant to older adults.
Summary of Findings
Does nostalgia increase well-being?
This study predicted that older adults given the opportunity to
engage in nostalgia, comparative to those who were not, would show higher
well-being and life satisfaction. This hypothesis was partially supported,
specifically for those who completed the questionnaire online. When
exploring specific well-being factors, environmental mastery and self-
acceptance were significantly higher in those who engaged in nostalgia
comparative to control in those who completed the questionnaire online.
These findings support the literature that nostalgia is able to impact upon
both hedonic (Baldwin, Biernat, & Landau, 2015; Cox, Kersten, Routledge,
Brown, & Van Enkevort, 2015; Routledge et al., 2008) and eudaimonic
(Hepper et al., 2016) aspects of well-being for a sub-population of our
sample (explored further below).
It is of interest that self-acceptance and environmental mastery were
significantly higher for those who engaged in nostalgia. Constructs akin to
self-acceptance such as self-continuity and self-esteem have been well-
researched and support found for the positive effect of nostalgia on these
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constructs (Cheung et al., 2016; Sedikides et al., 2016, 2015). This research
extends these findings with a different dependent variable, self-acceptance,
to find further support for the positive effect of nostalgia on these types of
construct. Nostalgia may boost these aspects of well-being by supporting
individuals to recall a time when they felt positively about themselves,
evoking these feelings in the present and leading to increased self-
acceptance. A novel finding from this study was that environmental mastery
was significantly higher for those who engaged in the nostalgia intervention.
This construct has not be explored in research to date therefore it is of
interest that support has been found for the benefit of nostalgia in this aspect
of well-being. Future research could build on this finding to explore whether
environmental mastery is improved in all populations through nostalgia or
whether this is something specific to older adults. It is possible that due to
difficulties associated with old age such as physical health or transportation
difficulties, which are likely to impact upon feelings of environmental
mastery, this aspect of well-being might be naturally lower in older adults
compared to working age adults. Therefore, for older adults recalling a time
when they were higher in environmental mastery than they are now,
nostalgia might increase well-being in this area more than for a working age
adult that is still high in this aspect of well-being. Future research to explore
the benefits of nostalgia for environmental mastery in younger and working
age populations would be of interest to understand these findings further.
The lack of significant finding for nostalgia increasing feelings of
positive relations is surprising given the extensive research in working age
adults to support the positive effect of nostalgia on constructs akin to
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positive relations i.e. social connectedness (Cheung et al., 2013, 2016; Cox
et al., 2015; Reid, Green, Wildschut, & Sedikides, 2015; Routledge et al.,
2011; Sedikides et al., 2016; Stephan et al., 2015; van Dijke, Wildschut,
Leunissen, & Sedikides, 2015). This is also surprising given the theoretical
support that older adults would be more likely to be seeking emotionally
meaningful experiences such as relationships, in later life (M. M. Baltes &
Cartensen, 1999). The difference between these findings and those from
prior research could be explained by the method of measuring social
connectedness. Unlike previous research, this study used positive relations
as part of the Ryff & Keyes (1995) Scales of Psychological Well-being. It
is also possible that due to using opportunity sampling and a large
proportion of recruitment occurring through community groups, e.g.
amateur dramatics, University for the Third Age etc., that the population
sampled were naturally higher in feelings of positive relations than is
representative of older adults generally, leading them to have less need to
call on nostalgia to boost this aspect of well-being. In contrast, a more
isolated older adult likely to be low in feelings of positive relations, might
not have been aware of the study and able to participate due to not being
part of such groups. Future research should explore constructs akin to social
connectedness through multiple measures and screen participants for levels
of positive relations to ensure participants both high and low in the construct
prior to intervention are included in the study.
Personal growth, purpose in life and autonomy are less researched
aspects of well-being in relation to nostalgia making the findings in this
study interesting to consider. Nostalgia has been referred to as a meaning-
Page 44 of 174
generating resource, called upon in times of boredom to boost feelings of
purpose in life (Routledge et al., 2011, 2012; Sedikides et al., 2004; van
Tilburg et al., 2013). Theories of ageing such as SST (M. M. Baltes &
Cartensen, 1999) and Gero-transcendence theory (Tornstam, 2005) also
support the likelihood that older adults are seeking more experiences that
provide this type of emotional meaning. However, as previously explored, it
is possible that due to the sampling method, participants in this study were
naturally high in this well-being factor meaning nostalgia was not able to
significantly boost this aspect of well-being. There is limited research into
the relationship between nostalgia and personal growth (Baldwin & Landau,
2014) or autonomy (Hepper et al., 2016). There is also limited theoretical
support for why nostalgia might be particularly beneficial for these aspects
of well-being; this might be due to nostalgic memories generally holding a
social or interpersonal focus whereas personal growth is a more individually
focused aspect of well-being (Sedikides et al., 2004). It is possible that this
research sheds light on areas of well-being that nostalgia targets less and
offers considerations for areas where nostalgia might have less utility in
older adult populations.
Does nostalgia buffer against threats to well-being?
Hypothesis 2 and 3 predicted that nostalgia would buffer against
threats to well-being: loneliness, time-limitedness and low activity levels.
For those who completed the questionnaire on paper, a significant
interaction occurred whereby loneliness was significantly, negatively
associated with well-being but not for participants in the nostalgia group.
This supports the potential buffering role of nostalgia against the negative
Page 45 of 174
impact of loneliness on well-being and is in line with our hypothesis
prediction. These findings, from a sub-sample of our participants, support
the literature conducted on working age adults suggesting that nostalgia
buffers loneliness to protect well-being (Zhou et al., 2008). Theoretically,
these findings fit with the ageing literature to suggest that emotionally
meaningful experiences such as connection are more important in older
adults (M. M. Baltes & Carstensen, 1996) and fit the literature on nostalgia,
stating that we call upon nostalgia in times of need (Sedikides et al., 2004;
Zhou et al., 2008).
It is important to note that the sample gained for this study was
negatively skewed in terms of loneliness meaning they do not represent a
population who are high in loneliness. This is likely to be due to the
methods of recruiting and the difficulty in gaining participants from
populations predicted to be high in loneliness. Our hypotheses might not be
as strongly supported as expected due to being conducted on a sample that
are low in loneliness levels. Our findings suggest that nostalgia might
become more beneficial as a buffer for well-being against loneliness in older
adults who are high in loneliness. Future research is needed to explore this
hypothesis, recruiting from populations known to be high in loneliness or in
participants with diagnosed mental health difficulties such as depression (of
which social withdrawal is a diagnostic criteria), to explore the buffering
effect of nostalgia further.
Due to technical error, this study was not able to accurately explore
whether nostalgia buffered against sense of time limitedness as any analyses
were under-powered. However, there are still strong theoretical grounds that
Page 46 of 174
sense of time limitedness is a significant threat to well-being in older adults
(M. M. Baltes & Cartensen, 1999) and that nostalgia is likely to buffer
against this threat (Hepper et al., 2016). Therefore, further research is
needed to explore this hypothesis in an older adult population.
There was found to be a significant buffering effect of nostalgia on
the relationship between low activity levels and life satisfaction. It is
possible that nostalgia allowed participants to recall a time when they were
physically active to benefit their ratings of life satisfaction in the here and
now. These findings are in line with a recent study that found the use of
nostalgia increased physical activity over a two week period (Kersten et al.,
2016). It is of interest that although Kersten et al. (2016) looked at
behavioural change in terms of activity levels and this study measured
subjective ratings of activity levels on a single item measures, both studies
found support for the positive effect of nostalgia on activity levels. This is
an area of interest for further investigation in older adults as physical health
difficulties are common in older adults and a frequent barrier to physical
exercise. If there are ways that life satisfaction can be maintained despite
low activity levels, these are worth exploring.
The influence of methodology
An unexpected finding in this study was that method of survey
completion appeared to have a significant impact upon the results. This was
unexpected as previous research has used both paper and online
administration of the manipulation with no differences between findings.
Investigation revealed that those who completed the survey online were
significantly younger than those who completed the survey on paper;
Page 47 of 174
however, age alone did not explain the discrepancy between findings when
entered as a covariate instead of method of survey completion. There are
two possibilities that might explain these findings. On the one hand, method
of completing the survey may represent two different sub-populations of
older adults. Alternatively, one method of survey completion may have been
more valid and participants were more successfully able to engage with the
manipulation.
In exploring the former it is possible that those who completed the
survey online represent a different population than those who completed the
survey on paper, making them more likely to benefit from the intervention.
It was found that the samples differed based upon age however this did not
fully account for the differences in findings. It is possible that the samples
differed on a variable similar to age that we did not measure for example:
number of retirement years. This type of factor is likely to have an impact
upon well-being. For example nostalgia is thought to be most beneficial to
those in transition or times of discontinuity (Hepper et al., 2016; Sedikides
et al., 2004; Wolf, 2014). Individuals who are currently going through
retirement, or have recently retired, are potentially more likely to benefit
from nostalgia due to being in a transition period as opposed to individuals
who have been retired for a number of years. If this is the case, it suggests
that those most likely to benefit from nostalgia are a sub-population of older
adults who are younger and perhaps more recently going through retirement.
However, it is impossible to draw any concrete conclusions of this nature
from this study and further research is needed to explore whether nostalgia
is more beneficial for some older adults than others.
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In relation to the alternative, it is possible that participants who
completed the questionnaire online experienced a more valid administration
of the survey than those who completed the questionnaire on paper. Those
who completed the questionnaire online were forced to complete the
questions in order whereas in the paper questionnaires it was possible to
skip ahead, potentially complete the well-being questionnaires prior to
having completed the intervention or to take breaks between the
manipulation and dependent variable measures. In order to explore whether
this was the case, future research could have participants complete the paper
questionnaires supported by a researcher to ensure the instructions are
followed as expected. This study did not do this due to time restraints and in
favour of gaining a larger sample. However, as method of completing the
survey was discovered to have a significant impact upon findings it would
appear that future research might benefit from more resources to ensure
there is less doubt that the intervention was administered as intended.
Findings from manipulation check
An issue emerged in this study that the manipulation check questions
were not significantly different between nostalgia and control groups. This
calls into question the success of the manipulation. This may be due to the
manipulation check being placed at the end of the questionnaire to avoid
demand characteristics, with the effects of the manipulation being
deteriorated by the time participants reached the end of the questionnaire.
This manipulation check and manipulation have been extensively validated
in previous studies (Hepper et al., 2014, 2012, 2016; Sedikides et al., 2016),
including studies with older adult samples (Cheung et al., 2016; Hepper et
Page 49 of 174
al., 2016; Routledge et al., 2012; Sedikides et al., 2016; Stephan et al.,
2012). Other studies have put the manipulation check straight after the
manipulation and this leaves participants vulnerable to demand
characteristics. There is no reason to expect that the manipulation was not
successful due to this having been well-validated in previous research. It is
possible that the manipulation only had a short effect. Therefore, it is
plausible that participants may have initially experienced nostalgia to a
greater extent in the nostalgia condition than the control. This is supported
by findings that participants in the nostalgia condition rated their memories
as more emotive than in the control group, in line with theoretical
understanding of nostalgia (Sedikides et al., 2004). This suggests that, at
least to some extent, the types of memories recalled in the nostalgia group
were significantly different to those recalled in the control condition. It is
important in future studies to continue protecting against demand
characteristic by not having the manipulation check directly after the
manipulation whilst also re-wording the manipulation check to direct
participants to think about how they felt when recalling the memory. Due to
the scope of this study, it was not possible to explore the content of the
memories recalled to code for the level of expressed nostalgia. Future
studies may benefit from completing such analyses.
Strengths and Limitations
This piece of research is the first to explore the benefits of nostalgia
specifically in older adults. This has uncovered the path for other
researchers to build on this research and consider the ways nostalgia might
be beneficial for older adult well-being, for whom it is likely to be most
Page 50 of 174
beneficial and whether interventions could be designed to benefit older
adults based upon nostalgia. The following limitations of this research can
be attended to by researchers hoping to build on these findings in order to
guide thinking about how to best conduct research in this area.
One limitation of this piece of research is the sample collected and
sampling method. It was important to prioritise quantity of participants to
ensure that there was sufficient power to conduct all analyses. However, the
sample had limited diversity, with the majority being from white, retired and
living independently. Furthermore, as discussed above, due to a large
proportion of participants being recruited from community groups, it is
possible that the older adults who participated in this study were higher in
well-being than is representative of other older adults and experiencing
fewer threats to well-being such as loneliness. Future research targeting
older adults who are known or predicted to be experiencing threats to well-
being would be a useful step to take following this study. This research
suggests that those most likely to benefit from nostalgia are older adults
who are high in loneliness therefore targeting these groups will shed further
light on the potential clinical utility of nostalgia.
Despite a keenness to ensure the study was well-powered to conduct
all analyses, due to the unexpected influence of method of completing the
survey, some analyses may have been underpowered. In addition, due to
technical error, the analyses involving time limitedness as a threat to well-
being was significantly under powered. Future research should explore this
hypothesis further with a large enough sample. In order to balance gaining a
Page 51 of 174
diverse sample and a large enough sample, future research might benefit
from exploring hypotheses in turn in separate studies.
It was found that the participants in the nostalgia group scored
significantly higher than the control group on a measure of trait nostalgia.
However, it is likely that this difference is due to the trait measure of
nostalgia being placed after the manipulation and therefore those in the
nostalgia condition having been primed to score higher. The trait nostalgia
measure was placed after the manipulation in order to avoid demand
characteristics in the control group. However, it has impacted upon the
validity of findings from this measure. For future research, it is likely to be
beneficial to measure trait nostalgia prior to the intervention or to consider
the impact of the manipulation on this measure when interpreting results.
Due to the time restraints of the research, the memories recalled by
participants were not content analysed. This makes the assumption that
participants engaged with the intervention as intended and did not recall
memories that were counter to the condition they were allocated to for
example an individual in the control condition who recalled a nostalgic
memory. Future research might benefit from analysing the content of
memories recalled and analysing the data both in relation to conditions as
allocated and conditions as engaged with successfully.
Finally, the short-term nature of the impact of nostalgia interventions
such as the Event Reflection Task highlights a potential difficulty in its
utility for benefiting well-being long-term. The majority of studies looking
into nostalgia have focused on establishing causal chains as to the benefits
of nostalgia as opposed to the potential long-term utility (Cheung et al.,
Page 52 of 174
2016; Sedikides et al., 2016; Stephan et al., 2015). However, research into
nostalgia proneness suggests that individuals who regularly engage with
nostalgia are higher in well-being than those low in nostalgia proneness
(Routledge et al., 2014). This supports the potential long-term utility of
nostalgia if it is engaged with regularly as part of a lifestyle. Therefore,
future research into this area may be beneficial.
Implications and Future Directions
One of the most promising findings from this piece of research is
that, for a sub-sample of our participants, nostalgia was beneficial for both
hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of well-being. This effect was found even
after a very short and self-directed nostalgia intervention. It is of interest to
explore whether a more long-term and facilitated intervention might have a
stronger effect. It is important to acknowledge that this piece of research is
only the start of understanding the benefits of nostalgia in older adults and
further research is needed. However, with further research, it is possible that
nostalgia could be utilised regularly to improve well-being in older adults.
For example, encouraging community groups to take 5 minutes each week
in their sessions to recall or share a nostalgic memory in order to boost well-
being. Interventions such as autobiographical writing classes for older adults
might be beneficial to support well-being by recalling, writing down and
being able to refer back to past memories that have shaped their identity
today. Alternatively, nostalgia could be used in a supplementary way to
support current clinical practice. This study found that for older adults,
nostalgia increased feelings of self-acceptance. Studies with working age
adults also support these findings (Cheung et al., 2013, 2016; Cox et al.,
Page 53 of 174
2015; Reid, Green, Wildschut, & Sedikides, 2015; Routledge et al., 2011;
Sedikides et al., 2016; Stephan et al., 2015; van Dijke, Wildschut,
Leunissen, & Sedikides, 2015). Therefore, professionals working
therapeutically with older adults experiencing mental or physical health
difficulties might be able to utilise nostalgia as a technique within sessions,
for example: prompting a client to recall past resources and times where
they have overcome similar difficulties to boost motivation and hope for
therapeutic change.
Another important aspect of this piece of research was beginning to
think about for whom nostalgia might be most beneficial. One finding was
that, to some degree, nostalgia could be seen to buffer against loneliness and
low activity levels to support well-being and life satisfaction respectively.
Although this sample was low in loneliness, the findings suggest that those
most likely to benefit from nostalgia are those higher in loneliness,
warranting future research in these populations specifically. Should future
research support these ideas, nostalgia could be a tool with high clinical
utility. Currently, older adults under the care of services for experiences of
depression, anxiety and dementia, are being offered reminiscence therapy
(RT) which has been found to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety
and slow the progression of dementia (Elias, Neville, & Scott, 2015; Hsieh
& Wang, 2003; Woods et al., 2005). Future research looking at whether
nostalgia is the active ingredient which leads reminiscence to be effective is
important. If this is found to be the case, RT could be adapted to have even
more clinical utility than previously. Even if this is not the case, nostalgia
could be used as a preventative strategy for older adults identified as
Page 54 of 174
vulnerable to experiencing mental health difficulties to boost well-being and
buffer against threats to well-being. Given the current context of the
National Health Service (NHS) where demand is outweighing resource,
being able to recommend strategies such as nostalgia for older adults to use
whilst awaiting input could be of high utility and support engagement when
they reach the top of a wait-list.
The findings from this research suggest that loneliness and low
activity levels are a significant threat to well-being and life satisfaction in
older adults that nostalgia might be able to buffer against. In order to go
forward in developing interventions to support these vulnerable groups,
several steps must be taken to build upon this research. Firstly, research
should be conducted with vulnerable groups that are high in loneliness such
as older adults experiencing depression or older adults who have
experienced the loss of significant loved ones. The various limitations of
this study should be considered in study design. Should support for the
utility of nostalgia be found in these populations, an intervention based upon
nostalgia could be developed and tested in similar populations either self-
administered or facilitated by researchers/health professionals. This could
take the form of a weekly nostalgia exercise, daily self-administered five
minutes of nostalgia or a writing group where older adults are supported to
write their memoir or autobiography. Measures of well-being and clinical
outcome measures should be used to explore the utility of such a group and
compared to a group who experienced treatment as usual or recalling an
ordinary memory each week. A follow-up with participants to assess the
long-term effectiveness of the intervention should also be conducted.
Page 55 of 174
Should such an intervention be found to be effective, similar interventions
could be rolled out across vulnerable older adults to benefit and protect
well-being.
Conclusions
Overall, this research has taken the first step in exploring the
benefits of nostalgia specifically in older adults. It offers promising findings
that nostalgia is beneficial for well-being in older adults and can buffer
some threats to well-being such as loneliness and low activity levels. Future
research is needed to build on these findings in different populations and to
consider the influence of method of survey completion on effectiveness as
well as to further test whether nostalgia buffers against other threats to well-
being in older adults such as time-limitedness. Recommendations are made
for researchers to specifically target older adults thought to be high in
loneliness. Should future research continue to support the utility of nostalgia
in older adults, interventions can be designed to protect well-being in this
vulnerable population and to potentially buffer against threats such as
mental health difficulties or bereavement allowing older adults to not just be
living longer, but also to be living a better quality of life.
Page 56 of 174
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List of Appendices
Appendix A Recruitment Poster
Appendix B Ethical Approval
Appendix C Research Governance Committee Approval
Appendix D Study Procedure
Appendix E Questionnaire Packs
Appendix F Debrief
Appendix G Normality Tests
Appendix H Author Formatting Guidelines
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Appendix A – Recruitment Poster
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Figure 2: Recruitment poster placed in newsletters or community centres
Appendix B – Ethical Approval
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Figure 3: Letter detailing favourable ethical opinion from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Ethics Committee at the University of Surrey
Appendix C – Research Governance Committee Approval
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Figure 4: Letter detailing Proceed with Considerations from Research Governance Committee
Figure 4: Confirmation of Ethical Approval from Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Ethics Committee.
Appendix D – Study Procedure
1 – Participants were recruited through contact with services and researcher attending meetings with questionnaires, community posters or snowball sampling. Participants will complete the questionnaire on paper or using the online survey.2 – Questionnaire begins with information sheet and consent form.3 – Demographics and control questionsDemographics – Gender and ethnicityControls – Age, employment type, accommodation type, MH5 and GH5 subscales of the SF-36 health questionnaire (Ware &Sherbourne, 1992)
4 – Threat QuestionsLoneliness – UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1982)Sense of time limitedness – Future Time Perspectives questionnaire (Demiray&Bluck, 2014)Activity Levels – Single item questionnaire
5 – Manipulation (IV) – Event Reflection Task (Sedikides et al., 2016) – Between-subjects random group allocation – Nostalgia vs. control (ordinary memory)6 – Affect - Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) 20 item scale (Watson, Clarke, &Tellegan, 1988)7 – Well-being measures (DV) Ryff & Keyes Psychological Well-being Scale (1995) Satisfaction with Life Scale (Pavot&Diener, 1993)
8 – Manipulation checksNostalgia – 3 item manipulation check (Sedikides et al., 2016)Reminiscence vs. nostalgia – Likert scale 1-7 rating extent to which the memory recalled was: emotive, important, personally relevant and social.
9 – Additional controls - Nostalgia Proneness – Southampton Nostalgia Scale (Barrett et al., 2010)
10 – Mood Stabiliser - List three things you are grateful for in your life (Emmons & McCullough, 2003)
11 – Online questionnaire – debrief and snowball samplingPaper Questionnaire – Flyer and snowball sampling. Guided to open sealed envelope with debrief – tick box as to whether they have opened it before the study finished or not. Researcher returned to group to collect questionnaire or participant posts questionnaire back using freepost envelope.
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Figure 5: Study procedure including variables and measures to be used.
Appendix E – Questionnaire Packs
Participant Information Sheet (16.08.2016 v.1)
PROJECT TITLE: Exploring wellbeing in older adultsMy name is Michelle Fawn and I am doctorate student at the University of Surrey. I would like to invite you to take part in a research project. Before you decide you need to understand why the research is being done and what it will involve for you. Please take the time to read the following information carefully. Talk to others about the study if you wish.What is the purpose of the study?This study seeks to understand factors that impact upon wellbeing in older adults, individuals aged 65 years and above. I am exploring what impacts upon wellbeing to gain a better understanding of how wellbeing might be improved in this population.Why have I been invited to take part in the study?Because you are aged 65 years and above and have expressed an interested in taking part in this research.Do I have to take part?No, you do not have to participate. There will be no adverse consequences if you decide not to participate. You can also withdraw at any time without giving a reason.What will my involvement require?You will be asked to complete a questionnaire which should take between 20 and 30 minutes. This can be completed in your own time and returned to me either via the freepost envelope enclosed or to me if I have arranged to visit the club/group in which we met to collect your completed questionnaire.What will I have to do?If you would like to take part please first sign the consent form on page 4 and complete the attached questionnaire in your own time. This consists of a series of questions about your life, emotions, wellbeing as well as a short writing task. The whole questionnaire should take between 20 and 30 minutes to complete. You will then be required to return this questionnaire to me either via the freepost envelope enclosed or in person if I have arranged to visit the club/group in which we met to collect your completed questionnaire.What are the possible disadvantages or risks of taking part?There are limited disadvantages to taking part however there is a possibility that some individuals may find aspects of the questionnaire emotive. We have tried to ensure that the questions in this study are not distressing or overly sensitive. However, it is not unusual to experience emotions when completing questionnaires about oneself and one’s life. If you find that completing this questionnaire raises any issues or difficult emotions for you we suggest you talk to your GP to explore support options. Please also leave blank any questions that you feel uncomfortable answering. What are the possible benefits of taking part?It is unlikely that you will benefit directly from taking part but it is hoped that this research can be used to positively influence how we support the wellbeing of older adults in the future. Often people enjoy participating in research such as this and value the opportunity to contribute. Furthermore, taking part in this research gives you the opportunity to learn about current Psychology research through reading the study aims and in the summary of what this research study found. Both of these pieces of information can be sent to you if you are interested by providing your address on the slip enclosed and returning it with your study responses.What happens when the research study stops?Once the research study comes to an end, should you be interested, there is an opportunity to hear what the study has found. Should you wish to hear about the study findings, please provide your address on the slip enclosed and return this with your completed questionnaire. This summary is likely to be sent to you by spring 2018.What if there is a problem?Any complaint or concern about any aspect of the way you have been dealt with during the course of the study will be addressed; please contact Dr Erica Hepper on 01483 686864 or [email protected]. You may also contact the Head of School Professor Derek Moore on 01483 686933 or [email protected].
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Will my taking part in the study be kept confidential?Yes. All of the information you give will be anonymised so that those reading reports from the research will not know who has contributed to it.Data will be stored securely in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.Should you have any questions about participating please do not hesitate to contact me or my supervisor on the details below:Michelle FawnSchool of PsychologyUniversity of SurreyGuildfordSurreyGU2 7XHEmail: [email protected]
Supervised by:Dr Erica HepperSchool of PsychologyUniversity of SurreyGuildfordSurreyGU2 7XHEmail: [email protected]: 01483 686864
Who has reviewed the project?The study has been reviewed and received a Favourable Ethical Opinion (FEO) from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Ethics Committee, at the University of Surrey (08.11.16, 1216-PSY-16).Thank you for taking the time to read this Information Sheet.
Consent Form [16.08.2016, Version 1)
PROJECT TITLE: Exploring wellbeing in older adultsPlease initial each box
I have read and understood the Information Sheet provided (version 1, date 16.08.2016). I have been given a full explanation by the investigators of the nature, purpose, location and likely duration of the study, and of what I will be expected to do.
I have been advised about any disadvantages on my health and well-being which may result. I have been given the opportunity to ask questions on all aspects of the study and have understood the advice and information given as a result.
I agree to comply with the requirements of the study as outlined to me to the best of my abilities.
I understand that in accordance with the English law, insurance is in place which covers harm that is likely to result from my participation in this study.
I agree for my anonymised data to be used for this study that will have received all relevant legal, professional and ethical approvals.
I understand that all project data will be held for at least 6 years and all research data for at least 10 years in accordance with University policy and that my personal data is held and processed in the strictest confidence, and in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act (1998).
I agree for the researchers to contact me to provide me with a study results summary if I have expressed interest in this by providing my address on the enclosed slip.
I understand that all data collected during the study, may be looked at for monitoring and auditing purposes by authorised individuals from regulatory
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authorities, where it is relevant to my taking part in this research. I give permission for these individuals to have access to my records.
I understand that I am free to withdraw from the study at any time without needing to justify my decision, without prejudice and without my legal rights being affected.
I understand that I can request for my data to be withdrawn until 28th April 2017 and that following my request all data already collected from me will be destroyed.
I confirm that I have read and understood the above and freely consent to participating in this study. I have been given adequate time to consider my participation.
Name of participant (BLOCK CAPITALS)
Signed ................................................
Date ...........................................
Name of researcher (BLOCK CAPITALS):
Signed ...................................Date ...................................
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Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. Please answer all of the questions in order.Some of the questions may seem very similar to each other but that is a necessary part of the research and we appreciate you answering them all.Please leave blank any questions you do not feel comfortable answering.There is also no right or wrong answer, we are just interested in your personal experiences.
The Older Adult Wellbeing Questionnaire
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Section 1 of 3About you
1. Are you fluent in English (please tick one box)?
Yes
No
2. What is your gender (please tick one box)?
Male
Female
Other: Please State ________________
Prefer not to say
3. What is your date of birth (dd/mm/yyyy)____/____/________
4. In your own words how would you describe your ethnicity?
____________________________________________
5. In your own words, how would you describe your employment status?
____________________________________________
6. Please tick the box for which of the following best applies to your living situation.
__ Living alone independently
__ Living with a partner independently
__ Living with relatives
__ Living in supported living accommodation
__ Living in a residential care setting
__ Living in a temporary accommodation e.g. hostel
__ No fixed address
__ Other, please state ____________________
General HealthThe following 10 questions are about your general health. Please try to answer each question to the best of your ability and in as much detail as possible.
1. In general, would you say your health is (please tick one box only):Poor
1
Fair
2
Good
3
Very Good
4
Excellent
5
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□ □ □ □ □
Definitely False
1
Mostly
False
2
Don’t know
3
Mostly True
4
Definitely True
5
2. I seem to get sick a little easier than other people
□ □ □ □ □
3. I am as healthy as anybody I know
□ □ □ □ □
4. I expect my health to get worse
□ □ □ □ □
5. My health is excellent
□ □ □ □ □
How true or false are each of the following statements for you (please tick box only for each question):
These questions are about how you feel and how things have been with you during the past 4 weeks. For each question please tick one box only:
None of the time
1
A little
of the
time
2
Some of the time
3
A good bit of the
time
4
Most of the time
5
All of the time
6
6. Have you been a very nervous person?
□ □ □ □ □ □
7. Have you felt so down in the dumps that nothing could cheer you up?
□ □ □ □ □ □
8. Have you felt calm and peaceful?
□ □ □ □ □ □
9. Have you felt downhearted and blue?
□ □ □ □ □ □
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10. Have you been a happy person?
□ □ □ □ □ □
Indicate how often each of the statements below is descriptive of you (tick one box for each question)
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I never feel this
way
1
I rarely feel this
way
2
I sometimes feel this way
3
I often feel this
way
41. I am unhappy
doing so many things alone
□ □ □ □
2. I have nobody to talk to
□ □ □ □
3. I cannot tolerate being so alone
□ □ □ □
4. I lack companionship
□ □ □ □
5. I feel as if nobody really understands me
□ □ □ □
6. I find myself waiting for people to call or write
□ □ □ □
7. There is no one I can turn to
□ □ □ □
8. I am no longer close to anyone
□ □ □ □
9. My interests/ideas are not shared by those around me
□ □ □ □
I never feel this
way
1
I rarely feel this
way
2
I sometimes feel this way
3
I often feel this
way
410. I feel left out □ □ □ □
11. I feel completely alone
□ □ □ □
12. I am unable to reach out and communicate with those around me
□ □ □ □
13. My social relationships are superficial
□ □ □ □
14. I feel starved for company
□ □ □ □
15. No one really knows me well
□ □ □ □
16. I feel isolated from others
□ □ □ □
17. I am unhappy being so withdrawn
□ □ □ □
18. It is difficult for me to make
□ □ □ □
Lifespan1. Please place an X on the line, at the point at which represents where you feel you
are now in your lifespan.
Activity Levels2. Compared to other people your own age, do you think you are? Please tick one
box:
Much less active
1
Less active
2
About as active
3
More active
4
Much more active
5□ □ □ □ □
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Section 2 of 3
Recalling a Memory
This is a good opportunity to take a break.
When you begin this section please complete it all in one go, there is another opportunity for a break when you reach section 3.
Death
Birth
A Nostalgic Memory in my LifeAccording to the Oxford dictionary, ‘nostalgia’ is defined as a ‘sentimental longing for the past’. Please think of a nostalgic event in your life. Specifically, try to think of a past event that makes you feel most nostalgic. Bring this nostalgic experience to mind. Immerse yourself in the nostalgic experience. How does it make you feel?
Please spend a couple of minutes thinking about how it makes you feel. Please write down four key words relevant to this nostalgic event i.e. words that describe the experience. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Using the space provided below, for the next few minutes, we would like you to write about the nostalgic event. Immerse yourself into this nostalgic experience. Describe the experience and how it makes you feel. Please feel free to type your response and attach it to the questionnaire if this is more comfortable for you than handwriting.Please aim to spend at least four to five minutes on this.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
**Participants in the control condition received these instructions instead**An Ordinary Memory in my LifePlease bring to mind an ordinary event in your life. Specifically try to think of a past event that is ordinary. By ordinary, we mean an event you may have experienced a number of times and is routine, typical or every day. Bring this ordinary experience to mind. Immerse yourself in the ordinary experience. How does it make you feel?
Please spend a couple of minutes thinking about how it makes you feel. Please write down four key words relevant to this ordinary event i.e. words that describe the experience.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Using the space provided below, for the next few minutes, we would like you to write about the ordinary event. Immerse yourself into this experience. Describe the experience and how it makes you feel. Please feel free to type your response and attach it to the questionnaire if this is more comfortable for you than handwriting.Please aim to spend at least four to five minutes on this.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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This is a good opportunity to take a break.
When you begin this section please complete it all in one go, there is another opportunity for a break when you reach section 3.
Feelings Right NowThe following questions involve a list of feelings and emotions. Please indicate to what extent you feel this way right now, having recalled the above event, using the scale below (please tick one box for each feeling/emotion).
Right Now I feel . . .Very
Slightly/Not at all
1
A Little
2
Moderately
3
Quite a bit
4
Extremely
51. 1. Interested □ □ □ □ □
2.Disinterested □ □ □ □ □
3.Excited □ □ □ □ □
4.Upset □ □ □ □ □
5.Strong □ □ □ □ □
6.Guilty □ □ □ □ □
7.Scared □ □ □ □ □
8.Hostile □ □ □ □ □
9.Enthusiastic □ □ □ □ □
10.Proud □ □ □ □ □
11.Irritable □ □ □ □ □
12.Alert □ □ □ □ □
13.Ashamed □ □ □ □ □
14.Inspired □ □ □ □ □
15.Nervous □ □ □ □ □
16.Determined □ □ □ □ □
17.Attentive □ □ □ □ □
18. Jittery □ □ □ □ □
19.Active □ □ □ □ □
20.Afraid □ □ □ □ □
Wellbeing Right Now
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Please indicate your degree of agreement with the following statements right now, having the above memory in mind, by ticking one box for each question.
Right Now I feel that . . .Strongly Disagree
1
Disagree
2
Neither agree nor
disagree
3
Agree
4
Strongly Agree
5
2. 1. I am not afraid to voice my opinions, even when they are in opposition to the opinions of most people.
□ □ □ □ □
2.I feel I am in charge of the situation in which I live
□ □ □ □ □
3.I am not interested in activities that will expand my horizons
□ □ □ □ □
4.Most people see me as loving and affectionate
□ □ □ □ □
5.I live life one day at a time and don’t really think about the future
□ □ □ □ □
6.When I look at the story of my life, I am pleased with how things have turned out
□ □ □ □ □
7.My decisions are not usually influenced by what everyone else is doing
□ □ □ □ □
8.The demands of everyday life often get me down
□ □ □ □ □
9.I think it is important to have new experiences that challenge how you think about yourself and the world
□ □ □ □ □
10.Maintaining close relationships has been difficult and frustrating for me
□ □ □ □ □
11.I have a sense of direction and purpose in life
□ □ □ □ □
12. I feel confident and positive about myself
□ □ □ □ □
13.I tend to worry about what other people think of me
□ □ □ □ □
14.I do not fit very well with the people and the community around me
□ □ □ □ □
15.When I think about it, I haven’t really improved much as a person over the years
□ □ □ □ □
16.I feel lonely because I have few close friends with whom to share my concerns
□ □ □ □ □
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17.My daily activities seem trivial and unimportant to me
□ □ □ □ □
18.I feel like many of the people I know have gotten more out of life than I have
□ □ □ □ □
19.I tend to be influenced by people with strong opinions
□ □ □ □ □
20.I am quite good at manageing the many responsibilities of my daily life
□ □ □ □ □
21.I have the sense that I have developed a lot as a person over time
□ □ □ □ □
22.I enjoy personal and mutual conversations with family members and friends
□ □ □ □ □
23.I don’t have a good sense of what it is I’m trying to accomplish in life
□ □ □ □ □
24.I like most aspects of my personality
□ □ □ □ □
25.I have confidence in my opinions, even if they are contrary to general consensus
□ □ □ □ □
26.I feel overwhelmed by my responsibilities
□ □ □ □ □
27.I do not enjoy being in new situations that require me to change my old familiar ways of doing things
□ □ □ □ □
28.People would describe me as a giving person, willing to share my time with others
□ □ □ □ □
29.I enjoy making plans for the future and working to make them a reality
□ □ □ □ □
30. I feel disappointed about my achievements in life
□ □ □ □ □
31.It’s difficult for me to voice my opinions on controversial matters
□ □ □ □ □
32.I have difficulty arranging my life in a way that is satisfying to me
□ □ □ □ □
33.For me, life has been a continuous process of learning, changing and growth
□ □ □ □ □
34.I have not experienced many warm and trusting relationships with others
□ □ □ □ □
35.Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of them
□ □ □ □ □
36.My attitude about myself is □ □ □ □ □
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probably not as positive as most people feel about themselves37.I judge myself by what I think is important, not by the values of what others think is important
□ □ □ □ □
38.I have been able to build a home and a lifestyle for myself that is much to my liking
□ □ □ □ □
39.I gave up trying to make big improvements or changes in my life a long time ago
□ □ □ □ □
40.I know I can trust my friends, and they know they can trust me
□ □ □ □ □
41.I feel as if I’ve done all there is to do in life
□ □ □ □ □
42.When I compare myself to friends and acquaintances, it makes me feel good about who I am
□ □ □ □ □
Life Satisfaction Right NowBelow are five statements that you may agree or disagree with right now, with the previously recalled event in mind. Please tick one box for each question to indicate your level of agreement with each item.
Right Now I feel that . . .Strongly Disagree
1
Disagree
2
Neither agree nor
disagree
3
Agree
4
Strongly Agree
5
3. 1. In most ways my life is close to my ideal
□ □ □ □ □
2.The conditions of my life are excellent
□ □ □ □ □
3.I am satisfied with my life □ □ □ □ □
4.So far, I have gotten the important things I want in life
□ □ □ □ □
5.If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing
□ □ □ □ □
Nostalgia Right NowAccording to the Oxford dictionary, “nostalgia” is defined as a “sentimental longing for the past”. Please answer the following three questions based upon this definition of nostalgia ticking one box for each question:
Strongly Disagree
1
Disagree
2
Neither agree nor
disagree
Agree
4
Strongly Agree
5
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34. 1. Right now I am feeling
quite nostalgic□ □ □ □ □
2.Right now I am having nostalgic feelings
□ □ □ □ □
3.I am nostalgic at the moment □ □ □ □ □
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Thank you for completing the previous section all in one go.
Now is a good opportunity to take a break.
Nostalgia in Everyday LifeAccording to the Oxford
Dictionary, ‘nostalgia’ is defined as a ‘sentimental longing for the past. ‘Please tick one box for each question:
Not at all
12 3 4 5 6
Very
75. 1. How valuable is nostalgia for you? □ □ □ □ □ □ □
2. How significant is it for you to feel nostalgic?
□ □ □ □ □ □ □
3.How prone are you to feeling nostalgic?
□ □ □ □ □ □ □
Very Rarely
12 3 4 5 6
Very
Frequently
7
6. 5. How often do you experience nostalgia
7.
□ □ □ □ □ □ □
6.Generally speaking, how often do you bring to mind nostalgic experiences?
□ □ □ □ □ □ □
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Section 3 of 3Your life in general
At least once a day
Three to
four times
a week
Approx. twice a week
Approx. Once a week
Once or
twice a
month
Once every couple
of month
s
Once or twice a
year
7.Specifically, how often do you bring to mind nostalgic experiences?
□ □ □ □ □ □ □
Nature of the MemoryPlease think back to the memory you recalled early in the questionnaire, please tick one box for each question to indicate the extent to which the memory was:
Not at all
1 2 3 4 5 6
Very
7
8. 1. Emotive □ □ □ □ □ □ □
2.Personally relevant
□ □ □ □ □ □ □
3.Significant □ □ □ □ □ □ □
4.Social □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Grateful for in Life
8. Please list three things in life that you are grateful for:a.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
b.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
c.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Thank you for completing this questionnaire
Should you have any further questions about the study please do not hesitate to email me on [email protected] or to contact my supervisor Dr Erica Hepper on 01483 686864 or [email protected]. If you wish to receive a summary of the aims and/or findings of this study please provide your address on the enclosed slip and return this with your completed questionnaire. If completing this questionnaire has brought up any difficult or upsetting feelings that you would like further support with, it is recommended that you visit your GP to explore options for receiving this support. You can also seek further support through Age UK befriending service (http://www.ageuk.org.uk/health-wellbeing/loneliness/befriending-services/) or from an accredited counsellor (http://www.cbtregisteruk.com/Default.aspx).This study requires a large number of people to complete this questionnaire. If you know of anyone aged 65 years or above who might be willing to be contacted about participating, please either:Provide a means of contacting this individual(s) here ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________And please specify their accommodation status by ticking one of the following boxes:
□Lives independently in own home□Lives in their own home receiving regular care support□ Lives in residential care, please specify name of residential home _______________________________________________________________________________________
OrGive them the flyer on the next page to inform them how to participate.Please remember to return your completed consent form and questionnaire either by posting it using the FREEPOST envelope or returning it to me in person if this has been agreed.
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Figure 6: Questionnaire booklet including information sheet, consent form and instructions given for both control and nostalgia condition respectively.
Appendix F - Debrief
DebriefThank you for taking the time to complete my questionnaire. The aim of this research project is to explore whether having the opportunity to recall a nostalgic memory compared to an ordinary memory has a positive effect on wellbeing in older adults. Half of the people that agree to participate in this research will be asked to recall an ordinary memory and the other half will be asked to recall a nostalgic memory. Recalling nostalgic memories has been found to be highly beneficial for wellbeing in terms of feeling a sense of social connectedness, meaning in life and identity. No studies to date have explored the potential benefits of nostalgia on wellbeing with only older adult participants despite the likely benefits to this age group specifically. Therefore this research aims to fill a gap in the literature to explore whether nostalgia has a potential benefit for wellbeing in older adults.
Should you have any further questions about the study please do not hesitate to email me, Michelle Fawn, on [email protected] or to contact my supervisor Dr Erica Hepper on 01483 686864 or [email protected].
If completing this questionnaire has brought up any difficult or upsetting feelings that you would like further support with, it is recommended that you visit your GP to explore options for receiving this support. You can also seek further support through Age UK befriending service (http://www.ageuk.org.uk/health-wellbeing/loneliness/befriending-services/) or from an accredited counsellor (http://www.cbtregisteruk.com/Default.aspx).
Appendix G – Normality Tests
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Figure 7: Full debrief sent out to participants following questionnaire completion (paper) or at end of qualtrics survey (online)
Table 6: Descriptive Statistics for all variables to test normality; highlighted cells indicate skewness or kurtosis.
NMinim
umMaxim
um Mean
Std. Deviat
ion Skewness Kurtosis
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic
Statistic
Std. Error
Statistic
Std. Error
Emotional Health
132 0.00 88.00 19.8485
14.58980
1.450 0.211
3.376 0.419
General Health
132 0.00 93.75 31.8213
19.33714
0.601 0.211
0.077 0.419
Loneliness 132 0.00 2.60 0.4537
0.49400
1.854 0.211
4.347 0.419
Loneliness Transformed
132 0.00 0.56 0.1425
0.12620
0.989 0.211
0.614 0.419
Negative Affect Score
128 1.00 3.00 1.1817
0.31080
2.731 0.214
10.032
0.425
Positive Affect Score
130 1.00 5.00 3.3737
0.99349
-0.601
0.212
-0.041
0.422
Life satisfaction
130 1.00 5.00 3.5108
0.77161
-0.846
0.212
1.185 0.422
Well-being Total
132 3.50 5.29 4.3921
0.39829
-0.028
0.211
-0.433
0.419
Autonomy 132 2.86 5.43 4.2888
0.52395
-0.311
0.211
0.120 0.419
Environmental mastery
132 3.14 5.00 4.2594
0.37708
-0.473
0.211
0.231 0.419
Personal growth
132 3.14 5.57 4.5633
0.51483
-0.053
0.211
-0.475
0.419
Positive Relations
132 3.14 5.43 4.5413
0.50766
-0.549
0.211
0.006 0.419
Purpose in life
132 3.00 5.57 4.4847
0.55497
0.002 0.211
-0.482
0.419
Self acceptance
132 2.71 5.43 4.2139
0.61904
-0.324
0.211
-0.329
0.419
Nature of Memory
128 1.00 7.00 5.0547
1.44244
-0.846
0.214
0.546 0.425
Nostalgia Proneness
131 1.50 6.17 3.8878
1.10053
-0.064
0.212
-0.647
0.420
Valid N (listwise)
123
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Appendix H – Author Formatting GuidelinesSubmission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts your files to a single PDF file, which is used in the peer-review process.
As part of the Your Paper Your Way service, you may choose to submit your manuscript as a single file to be used in the refereeing process. This can be a PDF file or a Word document, in any format or lay-out that can be used by referees to evaluate your manuscript. It should contain high enough quality figures for refereeing. If you prefer to do so, you may still provide all or some of the source files at the initial submission. Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be uploaded separately.
ReferencesThere are no strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. References can be in any style or format as long as the style is consistent. Where applicable, author(s) name(s), journal title/book title, chapter title/article title, year of publication, volume number/book chapter and the pagination must be present. Use of DOI is highly encouraged. The reference style used by the journal will be applied to the accepted article by Elsevier at the proof stage. Note that missing data will be highlighted at proof stage for the author to correct.
Formatting requirementsThere are no strict formatting requirements but all manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to convey your manuscript, for example Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions, Artwork and Tables with Captions.If your article includes any Videos and/or other Supplementary material, this should be included in your initial submission for peer review purposes.Divide the article into clearly defined sections.
Figures and tables embedded in textPlease ensure the figures and the tables included in the single file are placed next to the relevant text in the manuscript, rather than at the bottom or the top of the file. The corresponding caption should be placed directly below the figure or table.
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Figure 7: Author formatting guidelines for Journal of Ageing Studies
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Journal of Choice: Journal of Aging StudiesRationale: This journal is interested in papers exploring ageing experience and related to the broader categories of the social and behavioural sciences. It appears a good fit for this review due to its focus on ageing experience as well as being situated within a social psychology literature. The scope and impact factor of the journal are strong supporting a good reach for this systematic review if it were to be published in this journal.
Part 2 - Literature Review
Could Nostalgia have a Positive Effect on Well-being in Older Adults? A systematic Review
Word Count: 7, 728
Abstract
Aim: The aim of this review was to explore whether there is theoretical and
empirical support for a positive effect of nostalgia (a bittersweet recall of
past memories) on well-being in older adult populations through looking at
the literature on well-being and nostalgia in working age adults. With the
older adult population in the U.K. on the rise, it is important to ensure that
individuals over the age of 65 years are living well as well as living longer.
Various bodies of literature offer theoretical support that nostalgia could be
a relevant coping mechanism to support older adults to live well in later life.
Method: A systematic review of existing literature (1990 – 2017) was
conducted on nostalgia and well-being factors conceptualised as important
for older adults but explored in working age adult populations (Ryff and
Keyes (1995) psychological well-being factors and satisfaction with life).
Results: Support was found for the positive effect of nostalgia on all well-
being factors deemed relevant for older adults with the strongest support
being for positive relations, self-acceptance, purpose in life and satisfaction
with life. However this research is largely conducted on younger adult
populations.
Conclusions: The findings from this review offer strong theoretical support
for a positive effect of nostalgia on well-being factors important in later life.
However, there is little empirical support to date and research in older adult
populations is needed.
Keywords: Nostalgia, Older Adults, Well-being, Ageing.
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Introduction
The UK has an increasing population of adults aged 65 years and
above, with older adults now representing 17.7% of the population
comparative to 13.8% in 1974 (Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2016).
People are living longer, with the number of people aged 90 years and
above consistently rising each year (ONS, 2016). However, although older
adults in the UK appear to be living longer, due to physical (Depp, Vahia, &
Jeste, 2010; Minaker, 2012), mental (Ferrucci, 2008; Raz, Ghisletta,
Rodrigue, Kennedy, & Lindenberger, 2010; Thambisetty et al., 2010) and
social (Golden et al., 2009; Luo, Hawkley, Waite, & Cacioppo, 2012)
challenges associated with old age, they do not appear to be living a better
quality of life. Consequently, research has begun to explore factors that
might improve well-being in older adults. The current review will identify
and examine a factor that has gained increasing research attention in recent
years – nostalgia. Nostalgia is defined as a bittersweet emotion evoked
when reflecting on positive past memories and the unique functions of
nostalgia seem to suggest that it may be beneficial for older adults.
Understanding well-being in older adults
The two most influential bodies of literature looking at older adult
well-being focus on successful ageing and quality of life. These literatures
look beyond longevity of life to understand what constitutes a ‘successful’
life in old age. In relation to successful ageing, a large proportion of the
literature focuses on biomedical approaches, understanding successful
ageing as the absence of mental or physical ailments (Depp et al., 2010).
However, social-psychological approaches suggest that a high quality life in
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older adulthood goes beyond just the absence of negative factors to the
presence of positive ones, such as emotional stability and stimulation,
resilience to stressors, life satisfaction, social functioning, meaning in life,
independence, and self-acceptance(Bowling & Dieppe, 2005; Depp et al.,
2010).The quality of life literature mirrors this approach, understanding
well-being in older adults as the presence of positive environment, social
support and independence (Halvorsrud & Kalfoss, 2007). Interestingly,
maximising these positive factors has been found to improve subjective
quality of life more effectively than measures taken to manage
physical/mental health difficulties (Bowling & Iliffe, 2011). This suggests
that although absence of negative factors may better predict longevity of
life, it is the presence of the positive factors explored above that better
predicts quality of life and well-being in older adults.
There are differing approaches to conceptualising well-being, each
of which may help understand the aspects important in older adulthood.
There are three main approaches to defining well-being across all stages of
life. Hedonic well-being looks subjectively, understanding well-being as
increased happiness and reduced pain (Ryan & Deci, 2001). Similarly,
quality of life looks subjectively at well-being, however, looks more broadly
at all aspects of life that might positively or negatively impact upon an
individual such as employment, wealth or education (Burckhardt &
Anderson, 2003). These two approaches have been critiqued for their
reductionist approach to the concept of well-being - portraying it as a ‘real’
construct that can be measured as opposed to a conceptualisation of a multi-
faceted phenomenon (Dodge, Daly, Huyton, & Sanders, 2012). Eudaimonic
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approaches focus more on the multi-dimensional nature of well-being,
defining well-being as the extent to which an individual is fully functioning
in terms of meaning and self-realisation (Ryan & Deci, 2001). A dominant
framework for understanding eudaimonic well-being across the lifespan is
Ryff and Keyes’ (1995) model of psychological well-being encompassing
personal growth, environmental mastery, autonomy, purpose in life, positive
relations and self acceptance. Recent research suggests that eudaimonic
well-being factors are crucial throughout the lifespan but particularly in
older age due to difficulties that arise in later life such as physical health
concerns (Ryff & Singer, 2013). This might explain the overlap between
aspects deemed important for well-being in successful ageing and quality of
life literatures and well-being factors in Ryff and Keyes’ (1995) model of
well-being. Personal growth appears akin to resilience to stressors,
emotional stability and stimulation. Environmental mastery is akin to
positive environment and autonomy to independence. Positive relations is
akin to social support and social functioning and, finally, meaning in life
and self-acceptance are consistent factors present in both literatures. Overall
it seems that both eudaimonic and hedonic are worth considering as
important outcomes. Satisfaction with life, a hedonic construct from the
successful ageing literature, and the Ryff and Keyes’ (1995) well-being
factors, from the eudaimonic approach, appear important to bear in mind
when conceptualising well-being in older adults. It is important to identify
and understand everyday processes that can promote well-being and
therefore successful ageing in older adults. Some elements of older adult’s
lives are inevitable and outside of their control (e.g. bereavements and some
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aspects of physical health). Therefore finding ways that older adults can
promote their own well-being with resources at their disposal is an
important task for research. There are likely to be many ways that older
adults can and do promote their own well-being; one of these ways might be
through reminiscence and nostalgia.
Reminiscence and nostalgia
The most commonly used definition of successful ageing has been
“satisfaction with one’s past and present life”(Bowling & Dieppe, 2005, p.
1549). This suggests that one key aspect of well-being in older adults
involves looking back on one’s past – that is, the act of reminiscence
(Bohlmeijer, Roemer, Cuijpers, & Smit, 2007). Reminiscence is an
important cognitive ability, allowing us to recall events which support our
everyday functioning (Sedikides, Wildschut, & Baden, 2004). It has been
used as a tool to help improve mental health in older adults in the form of
reminiscence therapy in which patients are guided to look back on aspects
of their life to inform a current sense of self (Bohlmeijer et al., 2007;
Woods, Spector, Jones, Orrell, & Davies, 2005).However, the mechanisms
behind reminiscence therapy are poorly understood. Researchers are
beginning to suggest that nostalgia, a specific type of reminiscence, might
be the mechanism through which reminiscence therapy has a positive
influence on well-being in older adults (Cheston, Christopher, & Ismail,
2015).
Nostalgia fits under the umbrella of reminiscence and has
historically been conceptualised in varying ways. Leaving behind past
understandings of nostalgia as negative affect, homesickness and mental
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disorder, current literature defines nostalgia as “a bittersweet, albeit
predominantly positive, self-relevant, and social emotion that arises when
people reflect on personally meaningful memories”(Hepper, Ritchie,
Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2012, pp.103). In lay terms, nostalgia is often seen
as fondly looking back on the past, evoking feelings of happiness with a
tinge of longing. Nostalgia is shown to predominately induce positive
feelings, and to a lesser degree negative affect in younger adults (Wildschut,
Sedikides, Arndt, & Routledge, 2006). Research suggests that nostalgia is
part of everyday life for the majority of people, with a study finding that
79% of undergraduate students experience nostalgia at least once a week
(Wildschut et al., 2006). The majority of the literature agrees upon this
understanding of nostalgia and findings have been validated cross-culturally
(Batcho, 2013; Hepper et al., 2014; Hepper, Robertson, Wildschut,
Sedikides, & Routledge, 2016; Stephan, Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2012)
Although reminiscence and nostalgia both relate to aspects of
looking back on the past, there are at least three important distinctions to be
made between the two. These distinctions begin to shed light on why
nostalgia might be the active mechanism behind the positive relationship
between reminiscence and well-being. A first distinction is made in relation
to affect. Nostalgia is understood as always evoking an affective or ‘hot’
process, bringing up specific emotions such as happiness, fondness or
sentimental longing whereas reminiscence is not always an affective
process, supporting everyday memories as well as ones inducing feelings of
nostalgia (Cavanaugh, 1989). Secondly, reminiscence is the cognitive ability
that allows us to recall specific events from our past in order to support our
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functioning in everyday life, mainly aiding executive functioning
(Sedikides, Wildschut, & Baden, 2004; Wolf, 2014). Nostalgia, on the other
hand, holds more specific functions and is evoked in specific situations such
as times of external threat, therefore having a buffering effect on well-being
(Sedikides et al., 2004). Finally, research suggests that nostalgia uniquely
evokes fond memories of high personal importance with a social element
whereas reminiscence also encompasses trivial and negative memories
(Sedikides et al., 2004).
As outlined, above, the literature exploring the content of nostalgia
supports a unique affective and functional signature of nostalgia which
might suggest that nostalgia is the active ingredient that causes reminiscence
to have a positive influence on well-being (Sedikides et al., 2004; Synnes,
2015; Wolf, 2014). Further support is found in the literature exploring the
triggers and effects of nostalgia. Research suggests that nostalgia is
triggered in response to external threat such as transition periods or
unpleasant psychological states such as loneliness (Batcho, 2013; Routledge
et al., 2011; Stephan et al., 2012). The act of being nostalgic is thought to
buffer against these states (Sedikides et al., 2004; Wildschut et al., 2006)
and in consequence induce feelings of self-continuity (Sedikides, Wildschut,
Routledge, & Arndt, 2015), meaning in life (Routledge, Juhl, Abeyta, &
Roylance, 2014; van Tilburg, Igou, & Sedikides, 2013) and social
connectedness (Abeyta, Routledge, & Juhl, 2015; Zhou, Sedikides,
Wildschut, & Gao, 2008). For example in response to bereavement and
associated low mood, one might call upon nostalgia and recall memories of
positive interactions with the deceased to feel connected to that person
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again, consequently improving mood. Overall, it seems that there is strong
support that nostalgia is likely to have a positive influence on well-being in
older adults specifically, over and above reminiscence; consequently,
nostalgia is the focus of this review.
The effects of nostalgia have been shown empirically through two
different approaches to date: trait vs. state nostalgia. ‘Nostalgia proneness’
or ‘trait nostalgia’ is understood as a stable individual difference of the
extent to which nostalgia is valued and engaged in (Routledge, Arndt,
Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2008). This construct is typically measured through
the Batcho Nostalgia Inventory (Batcho, 1995) or the Southampton
Nostalgia Scale (Routledge et al., 2008). On the other hand, ‘state’ or
‘induced’ nostalgia is where participants are encouraged to engage in the
cognitive process of being nostalgic in the experiment itself e.g. (Wildschut
et al., 2006).
Nostalgia and older adults
There is a significant lack of research into nostalgia and well-being
in older adults, with the majority of studies having been conducted on
younger adult samples. However, despite the lack of empirical evidence,
there are at least four reasons to expect nostalgia to have a positive effect on
well-being in older adults. Firstly, there is an extensive clinical literature on
Reminiscence Therapy (RT) and its positive effects when used as an
intervention with older adults experiencing depression, anxiety or dementia.
RT is a therapy which systematically reviews positive and negative life
experiences with the view to positively re-frame and analyse memories to
meet certain therapeutic goals (Elias, Neville, & Scott, 2015; Hsieh &
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Wang, 2003; Woods et al., 2005). RT does not specifically aim to induce
nostalgia; however, given what was discussed above, it is possible that
nostalgia was evoked in these trials and may have contributed to the positive
effects found. Robust systematic reviews (Elias et al., 2015; Woods et al.,
2005) and a meta-analysis (Bohlmeijer et al., 2007) show the positive effect
of RT in reducing symptoms of depression and dementia and show an
increase in satisfaction with life and emotional well-being. As was explored
above, some researchers are beginning to suggest that nostalgia is often
overlooked however, it may be highly beneficial to populations
experiencing significant difficulties such as dementia (Cheston et al., 2015).
It seems that reminiscence has a significant positive effect on well-being in
older adults and it is of interest to see to what extent nostalgia, as a type of
reminiscence, contributes to this benefit.
Secondly, many of the psychological theories of ageing suggest that
nostalgia would be increasingly valued in older adulthood. For example,
Socio-emotional Selectivity Theory (SST) holds that older adults are
increasingly aware of the time limited nature of life and therefore prioritise
emotional meaning over knowledge acquisition (Carstensen, 1992, 2006;
Carstensen et al., 2003). Nostalgia has been found to be one method through
which we can find emotional meaning, particularly at times of difficulty,
looking back on positive memories of our past self to give us a sense of self-
continuity, meaning in life and connection to significant others (Sedikides et
al., 2004). This suggests engagement in nostalgia may support the shifting
focusing towards emotional meaning seen as important for older adults by
SST.
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Thirdly, nostalgia, unlike other types of autobiographical memory,
has been found to show a U-shaped relationship with age, suggesting both
younger and older adults are likely to experience more trait nostalgia(Wolf,
2014). This curve suggests that perhaps characteristics of younger and older
adult life are more likely to elicit the need for nostalgia to maintain well-
being. Older adults are more likely to experience external threat such as
bereavement, transitions to retirement and physical ill health as well as
unpleasant psychological affect such as boredom and loneliness (Halvorsrud
& Kalfoss, 2007). Therefore, older adults may theoretically be more likely
to be nostalgic due to their increased need to improve well-being through
the functions of nostalgia.
Finally, many of the threats buffered by nostalgia appear highly
relevant to the challenges of older adulthood, for example, loneliness
(Hagan, Manktelow, Taylor, & Mallett, 2014; Pinquart & Sorensen, 2001;
Thomas, 2015). Furthermore, many of the well-being factors promoted by
nostalgia including social connectedness, meaning in life and self-continuity
are also deemed to contribute to successful ageing (Sedikides et al., 2004).
This overlap between the nostalgia literature and the older adult well-being
literature appears to provide further support that nostalgia could be
particularly beneficial to individuals transitioning into later life. Overall, this
review aims to explore the literature looking at nostalgia and well-being
factors important in older adults to see whether the theoretical support for a
positive relationship between the two is backed up.
Summary
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The UK is living in an ageing population and it is becoming
increasingly important to understand how to support well-being in this
growing proportion of people aged 65 years and above. In drawing on the
literature of conceptualisations of well-being across the lifespan and those
specific to older adults, this review conceptualises well-being as Ryff and
Keyes’(1995) six well-being factors (personal growth, environmental
mastery, autonomy, self-acceptance, meaning in life and positive relations)
and life satisfaction (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Various
theoretical explorations have been made as to the potential positive
influence nostalgia may have on well-being in older adults. This review
aims to evaluate the literature relating to adults across the lifespan in
relation to well-being and nostalgia. This will explore how the results of
studies that have addressed nostalgia and wellbeing in working age adults
might have implications for older adults, whilst also drawing out the
important factors that could be specific to older people from the studies that
have included older adults.
Method
A review of publications from 1990 – 2017 (April) was conducted
through the use of online search engines PubMed, ISI Web of Science and
PsycINFO (See Figure 1). Searches were restricted to English language
papers and peer reviewed papers only. The search terms were chosen to
encompass the above well-being factors important in older adults as well as
excluding the body of literature on nostalgia and consumer/advertising (as
this literature does not generally focus on personal nostalgia) as well as RT
(see Table 1). At stage one, research was found that contained the term
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nostalgia alongside one or more of the Ryff and Keyes (1995) well-being
factors or life satisfaction. No qualitative studies were returned at this stage.
At stage two, research manipulating or measuring nostalgia was included
and at stage three research manipulating or measuring one of the Ryff and
Keyes (1995) well-being factors or life satisfaction were included. Three
researchers that were deemed to be actively researching in the field of
nostalgia from initial database searching were contacted for additional
papers. One paper, which was seeking publication, was obtained from Dr
Erica Hepper through this method (Hepper et al., 2016). Twenty two studies
were identified to be included in this review. These studies were
qualitatively evaluated using the National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (NICE) Quality appraisal checklist (NICE, 2012) (see ‘Results’
and ‘Comments’ in Table 3). This checklist allows for objective ratings of
research studies using a series of questions deemed important for a quality
paper. Each paper may be rated on each question as ++, +, -, not rateable or
not applicable, in order to consider quality in different domains. Evaluation
of papers using these guidelines is included qualitatively in Table 3
(‘Results’ and ‘Comments’).
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Table 1: Search criteria (inclusion and exclusion) for reviewing the literature at each stage
Inclusion Exclusion
Stage 1 - Initial Search
1 - Peer Reviewed Journal2 - In English3 - Published between 1990 and March 20174 - <nostalgi*> in title or topic5 - <well-being OR well-being OR "personal growth" OR "personal development" OR independen* OR autonomy OR "environmental mastery" OR self-esteem OR self-acceptance OR "social connect*" OR "positive relations*" OR "social support" OR "purpose in life" OR "meaning in life" OR "life satisfaction" OR "satisfaction with life" in abstract
1 - <NOT consumer OR advert* OR "reminiscence therapy"> in topic
Stage 2 - Screening title and abstract
1 - Adults aged 18 years and above2 - Must measure or manipulate nostalgia3- Exploration of personal/individual nostalgia
1 - political references to nostalgia or immigration narratives2 - Book reviews3 – Exploration of collective/group nostalgia
Stage 3 - Full text screening
1 - Must measure or manipulate one of the six psychological well-being constructs or life satisfaction
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Figure 1: Step by step process of conducting the literature review (Moher, Liberati, Tetzlaff, & Altman, 2009).
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22 full text articles included in qualitative synthesis
13 full text articles
excluded, with reason
35 full text articles assessed for eligibility
143 records excluded178 records screened
178 records after duplicates removed
247 records identified through database searching
1 record identified through other sources
Results
Twenty two articles met the criteria outlined for this review and only
relevant studies from each article were included, this gave a total of sixty
studies (see Table 2). The articles were grouped in relation to which aspects
of older adult well-being they explored; some studies were deemed relevant
to several aspects of well-being. Each aspect of well-being is reviewed in
turn, beginning with the aspects covered in the largest number of articles.
Summary of Study Method and Characteristics
Of the twenty two papers included in this review, the majority
approached the study of nostalgia through experimental design with
volunteer participant recruitment and high levels of control. Of the twenty
two papers, the majority were on working age adult samples, with some
undergraduate studies. The most common methodology involved placing
participants in a nostalgia condition or control condition and eliciting
nostalgia through a writing task. Following this, an aspect of well-being was
measured to see the effect of the manipulation. The method of analysis
aimed to establish causation. Often, papers included further studies that
measured or manipulated a threat to well-being, individual differences
factors or completed chain analyses to see whether the benefits of nostalgia
operate in this way. Five of the studies identified in this review included
older adult participants (see Table 3). The methodology used in these
studies did not differ from those used in studies that did not include older
adults.
Positive Relations
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Fourteen papers conducted studies looking into constructs akin to
positive relations (i.e. social support, social connection, social
connectedness).
Positive Relations – Feeling Connected:
Of these fourteen papers, seven investigated and proposed that
nostalgia has a positive influence on feelings of positive relations(Cheung et
al., 2013; Cheung, Sedikides, & Wildschut, 2016; Cox, Kersten, Routledge,
Brown, & Van Enkevort, 2015; Reid, Green, Wildschut, & Sedikides, 2015;
Routledge et al., 2011; Sedikides et al., 2016; Stephan et al., 2015; van
Dijke, Wildschut, Leunissen, & Sedikides, 2015). These studies
experimentally induced nostalgia, comparative to a control, finding that
participants in the nostalgia condition reported higher levels of social
connectedness. In all of these papers, diverse methodology was used
offering convergent validity. For example, although one study’s measures of
positive relations did not appear to have been internally validated (Stephan
et al., 2015), the six other studies outlined similar results using a variety of
internally valid measures (Cheung et al., 2013, 2016; Cox et al., 2015; Reid
et al., 2015). Reid et al. (2015) evoked nostalgia through scent as opposed to
an event reflection task, still finding the same support for the association
between nostalgia and positive relations. Across the studies, the samples
used were diverse in age, with one study including some older adults in the
sample(Cheung et al., 2016). These studies offer strong support for the
positive effect of nostalgia on feelings of positive relations.
Three of the papers identified above also conducted studies
suggesting that the relationship between nostalgia and positive relations acts
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as a mediator for the association between nostalgia and other well-being
factors (Routledge et al., 2011; Sedikides et al., 2016; Stephan et al., 2015).
These other factors included self-esteem, purpose in life, motivation for goal
pursuit and overall well-being; all found to have a positive association with
nostalgia mediated by social connectedness. Highly valid and reliable
methodology was used in all three studies. It is of interest whether these
findings from cross sectional, experimental studies would be replicated in
more ecologically valid, longitudinal studies.
Positive Relations - Behavioural Intentions:
Two of the fourteen papers looking at positive relations explored
whether nostalgia influences behavioural intentions to connect with others
(Abeyta et al., 2015; Turner et al., 2013). Abeyta et al. (2015) found that
nostalgia increases feelings such as social efficacy which in turn increases
the likelihood of action on these feelings through conflict resolution and
goal striving behaviours. This paper offers strong convergent validity,
conducting seven studies inducing nostalgia through a variety of methods
and offering good effect sizes. As will be the case with experimental
methods of testing behaviour, the ecologically validity may be limited and
so research expanding on these initial findings will be beneficial.
One paper that lays out one area where research might be of great utility
was conducted by Turner et al. (2013) finding that nostalgia increases
positive feelings towards an out-group (individuals with mental health
difficulties) through out-group identification. It was not clear whether
participants were excluded based upon history of mental health difficulties
or whether the potential influence of differing levels of stigma for different
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types of mental health problems such as schizophrenia versus depression
(Shrivastava, Johnston, & Bureau, 2012) was accounted for. However, this
paper offers interesting insight into the potential utility of nostalgia to
influence action as well as internal experience.
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Table 3: Summary of 22 papers meeting the criteria for being included in this.Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*)
Design Results Conclusions/Comments
Abeyta et al (2015)
Positive relations
Study 1 - 84 (M=20.01)Study 2 - 338 (Adults, NR)Study 3 - 62 (M=24.53)Study 4 - 110 (M=35.24)Study 5 - 225 (M=34.17)Study 6 - 162 (M=33.56)Study 7 - 97 (M=19.35)
Study 1 and 2 – Manip nostalgia, measured social aspiration indexStudy 3 - manipulated pessimism, measured engagement with nostalgiaStudy 4 - content analysis of nostalgia, measured social strivingStudy 5 - manipulated nostalgia, measured friendship approachStudy 6 - manipulated nostalgia, measured social efficacy/goal strivingStudy 7 - manipulated nostalgia, measured social efficacy and conflict resolution
Author: Nostalgia increased relationship goal importance (d=.54), social efficacy (b=.59), optimism of conflict resolution (b=.73), proactive conflict resolution (b=.40) and goal striving (np²=.03). Evoking pessimism increased likelihood of nostalgia (d=.51)
Reviewer- Some studies under powered with large confidence intervals calling into question the methodology and replicability
Author: Nostalgia is a catalyst for social goal pursuit and growth
Reviewer: + Reliable and replicable methodology with several studies re-testing and supporting same hypotheses. Various methods of successfully inducing nostalgia. Suggestive that nostalgia has increased use and is increasingly drawn on as we age.- Cross-sectional only therefore more research needed for increased ecological validity. Some studies lack manipulation check and internal reliability such as study 3
Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Austin &Constabile (2017)
Self-acceptance
Study 1 - 128 (M=19.3)Study 2 - 226 (M=19.06)
Study 1 - manipulated agentic vs. communal memory and measured nostalgia and self-esteemStudy 2 - grouped freely recalled memories into agentic vs. communal and nostalgia and self-esteem measured
Author: Agentic prompt group had higher self-esteem (np²=.13) and communal themes predicted nostalgia (β=.18) which predicted self-esteem (β=.19) Reviewer: Good power and CIs. Good control of individual differences (traits)
Author: nostalgia plays a role in increasing self-esteem only when the memories are communal and does not play a role when the memories are agenticReviewer: Content of memory is important in determining whether nostalgia is the mechanism which is increasing self-esteem.+ Good second study to allow more natural memory recall and without changing group allocation as in study 1 (memory prompt vs. memory theme content) - Is communal memory the same as social connectedness? Hard to determine due to inability to establish causal relationships due to cross-sectional methodology
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Baldwin et al. (2015)
Self-acceptance (all studies)
Life Satisfaction (Study 6 & 7)
Study 1 - 87 (M=35)Study 2 - 120 (M=28)Study 3 - 100 (M=32)Study 4 - 124 (M=31)Study 5 - 132 (M=35)Study 6 - 161 (M=35)Study 7 - 204 (M=37)
Studies 1-4 - Manipulated nostalgia and measured authenticity, self focus or self-conceptStudies 5-7 - manipulated intrinsic self-threat and measured dispositional nostalgia or manipulated opportunity to engage in nostalgia
Author: Nostalgia was associated with ratings of past self-authenticity (d=.46), lower rated intrinsic self-focus (d=.51), protected against intrinsic self-threat (d=.68) and life satisfaction ratings (d=.70)Reviewer: Good reliability of measures however sometimes lacking internal validity such as study 3
Author: Nostalgia offers a window to the intrinsic self and buffers against self-threatReviewer: Good self critique and use of multiple methods to explore external validity of findings. Occasional lack of detail such as why some ppts were removed due to failing to engage with the memory task as per instructions (impacts replicability). Also, as named in discussion, limited by cross sectional methodology as to the ecological validity and long term utility of findings
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Baldwin & Landau (2014)
Personal Growth (Study 1)
Self-acceptance (Study 2)
Purpose in life (Study 2)
Study 1 - 159 (M=31.36)Study 2 - 121 (M=21.38)
Study 1 & 2 - Manipulated nostalgiaStudy 1 - measured self perceptions of growth and behavioural intentions of growthStudy 2 - measured meaning in life and positive self regard
Author: Positive emotion mediates effect of nostalgia on growth orientated self-perceptions (B=.30) and behavioural intentions (B=.20). Nostalgia effect of growth orientated behavioural intentions is mediated by positive self regard (B=.18) Reviewer: Manipulation check is only a single item and lacks reliability and internal validity reports. Can't be sure that intervention was successful and cause of the findings
Author: Nostalgia increases growth perceptions and intentions indirectly via positive emotion. Nostalgia increases positive self-regard and meaning in life but only positive self-regard mediates positive effect of nostalgia on growthReviewer: Calls into question how nostalgia is different from just positive emotion and why positive emotion alone does not initiate psychological growth. Need for positive emotion control group due to findings. Possible implications for other studies.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Batcho et al. (2008)
Self-acceptance
96 (18-55) Manipulated identity and relationship salience of lyrics and measured personal and historical nostalgia proneness and identity (if the individual is striving to improve and identity style)
Author: high identity exploration related to higher nostalgia at the lyrics (n²=.101). Personal nostalgia related to other directedness (n²=.05), historical nostalgia did not (n²=.043) Reviewer: Original lyrics removes bias of previous feelings about a song. Potential sample bias due to age and increased likelihood at developmental stage of identity exploration
Author: The more actively ppts were exploring their identity the more meaningful they found the lyrical nostalgia that emphasised identity. Individuals higher in personal nostalgia relied more on others to define standards for identity whereas those higher in historical nostalgia rely less heavily on others, identifying with more solitary lyrics.Reviewer: Explores nostalgia through a different medium. Difficult to account for individual differences due to same stimuli for nostalgia as opposed to personal recall. Lack of internal and external validity
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Cheung et al. (2016) **
Positive relations
Self-acceptance
448 (18-72) Induced nostalgia and measured trait nostalgia, social connectedness and self-esteem
Author: Nostalgia positively predicted social connectedness (β=0.946) and self-esteem (β=0.635) for individuals high in nostalgia pronenessReviewer: Accurate reporting and use of reliable, valid measures. Large diverse sample to support generalisability and reduce bias.
Author: Proneness to nostalgia engagement when coupled with momentary nostalgia confers benefits in terms of higher social connectedness, self-esteem and optimism.Reviewer: Clear and precise article using methodology with high internal and external validity. Use of cross-sectional design or further experimental designs in the future may add additional support for findings. Good testing of null hypotheses.
Cheung et al. (2013)
Study 3 and 4
Self-acceptance (Studies 3 & 4)
Positive relations (Study 4)
Study 3 - 664 (14-67)Study 4 - 127 (18-42)
Study 3 - song induced nostalgia measured self-esteem and optimismStudy 4 - song induced nostalgia, measured self-esteem, social connectedness and optimism
Author: Nostalgia condition predicts higher self-esteem (study 3- np²=.009, study 4 - np²=.12) and social connectedness (np²=.16) than controlReviewer: Good convergent validity and large representative samples. Thorough mediation and model fit analyses. Unsure of the reliability and validity of measures used in study 3 as reduced to two items and not stated.
Author: Nostalgia fosters social connectedness, which subsequently increases self-esteem which then boosts optimism.Reviewer: Nostalgia has a direct effect on self esteem and social connectedness as well as an indirect effect on self esteem through social connectedness. Supports our study showing stronger effect of nostalgia on
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
optimism in older ppts.
Cox et al. (2015)
Study 1 and 2
Life satisfaction
Positive Relations
Study 1 - 83 (M=18.79)Study 2 - 101 (M=18.97)
Nostalgia induced and either positive/negative affect, life satisfaction or relationship needs satisfaction were measured
Author: Nostalgia condition predicted increased life satisfaction (d=.57) and relationship needs satisfaction (d=.58) ratingsReviewer: Unique methodology offering convergent validity alongside other studies and strong internal validity and reliability of measures.
Author: Nostalgia can be induced through websites and have positive effects on life satisfaction and relationship need satisfactionReviewer: Good ecological validity in using real blogging sites. Query if the same benefits would be present for generations less familiar with the internet.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Hart et al. (2011)Study 2 & 3
Positive relations
Self-acceptance
Study 2: 99 (M=25.79)Study 3: 534 (13-64)
Study 2 & 3: Manipulated nostalgia and measured personality, nostalgia proneness, self positivity and social connectedness
Author: Study 2: nostalgia more strongly served a self-positivity function for high, vs. low, narcissists (r=.25). Narcissism for not significantly associated with social connectedness function of nostalgia (r=.16) Study 3: Nostalgia more strongly served to increase self-positivity (r=.09) but not social connectedness (r=.06) in high narcissists. Narcissism significantly predicted benefit effect of nostalgia on self-positivity (β=.10) and marginally predicted social connectedness (β=.09)Reviewer: Good control in study 3 of personality factors however many other factors are possibly also at play such as attachment style. Large sample and goes beyond correlation in study 3.
Author: Nostalgia served a self-positivity but not a social connectedness function in high (vs. low) narcissists. There is a relevance of personality in the experience of nostalgiaReviewer: Little theoretical support for the foundation of the studies that the self-positivity function of nostalgia is agentic and social connectedness is communal, is it this black and white or is there overlap in categories? Perhaps a deeper layer is present such as childhood experience shapes personality which shapes the differential functional benefits of nostalgia?
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Hepper et al. (2016) **
All Ryff well-being factors
Study 1 - 443 (18-91)Study 2 - 93 (18-33)
Study 1 - measured nostalgia proneness and Ryff well-being factors Study 2 - Manipulated time perspective and nostalgia and measured nostalgia proneness and Ryff well-being
Author: Age was more positively (or less negatively for personal growth) associated with well-being for high nostalgic individuals. Nostalgia proneness significantly moderated the associations between age and environmental mastery and positive relations. Nostalgia buffers against psychological threat of time limitedness to protect well-beingReviewer: Varied methodology and large diverse sample, use of internally valid and reliable measures. Query representativeness of sample due to high education level and whether nostalgia is equally beneficial for less educated populations
Author: Nostalgia buffers psychological threat and may be a catalyst for the maintenance or increase in psychological well-being across the adult lifespanReviewer: Strong methodology and rationale. Longitudinal research would be beneficial to test effects over time. Query ecological validity of evoking time limited perspective and future research could benefit from exploring populations where time limitedness is naturally occurring such as older people
Iyer & Jetten (2011)
Study 1
Life satisfaction
Study 1 - 120 (18-38)
Study 1 - measured nostalgia, perceived academic obstacles, identity continuity and life satisfaction at two different time points (2 months into University and 6 months into university at Easter break)
Author: Nostalgia negatively predicted life satisfaction at low levels of identity continuity (β=-.15) but did not positively predict life satisfaction at high levels of identity continuity (β=.09) Reviewer: Limited internal reliability and validity of measures particularly nostalgia with one item. Also the measure of identity continuity appeared to better measure continued group membership rather than continuity with the group identity. These measures were
Author: Nostalgia had negative implications when levels of identity continuity were low such as lower life satisfaction.Reviewer: Longitudinal study adds different approach however findings were not replicated that nostalgia has a positive effect on life satisfaction when identity continuity is high.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
taken from a large questionnaire to inform other studies therefore unable to know the effect these other measures may have had on the ones relevant to this study.
Unsure whether this is due to different methodology.
Reid et al. (2015)
Self-acceptance
Purpose in Life
Positive Relations
160 (M=20.46) Measured dispositional nostalgia, rated 12 scents as to nostalgia, autobiographically relevant, arousing and familiar. Measures positive affect, self-esteem, self-continuity, optimism, social connectedness and meaning in life. Measured situational nostalgia.
Author: Dispositional nostalgia predicted scent evoked nostalgia (β=.06). Strength evoked nostalgia significantly predicted self esteem (β=.42), self-continuity (β=.52), social connectedness (β=.57) and meaning in life (β=.41) Reviewer: Use of internally reliable and valid measures with strong theoretical grounding. Took into account personal and dispositional nostalgia to the scents. However, unclear if included ppts with no nostalgia ratings for any scents above the midpoint.
Author: Scent evoked nostalgia predicted higher levels of self-esteem, self-continuity, social connectedness and meaning in life. Reviewer: High ecological validity and implications for utility of nostalgia every day. Adds further evidence to the functions of nostalgia, supporting findings through a different method of evoking nostalgia (convergent validity).
Routledge et al. (2008)
Study 1 & 2
Purpose in Life
Life satisfaction
Study 1 - 76 (NR)Study 2 - 40 (NR)
Study 1 - mortality salience vs. control, measured nostalgia proneness and meaning in lifeStudy 2 - Mortality salience vs. control, measured nostalgia proneness, self-esteem and life satisfaction
Author: Study 1 - Significant interaction of nostalgia proneness and meaning in life based on condition (b=-.41). In the mortality salience condition, the more nostalgia prone individuals were the less they perceived their life to be meaningless (b=-.32).Study 2 - The effects of condition on death thought accessibility was not explained by self-esteem (r=-.05) or
Author: Nostalgia can act as a buffer to mortality salience in individuals who are nostalgia prone by increasing feelings of meaning in lifeReviewer: Study 2 would have been stronger as 2*2 experimental design as hard to know causal chain in this study. Interesting to note no significant correlations
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
satisfaction with life (r=-.18) as these were not significantly correlated with nostalgia proneness. Reviewer: Study 1 does not use a reliable and internally valid measure of nostalgia proneness however Study 2 repairs this weakness. Query the ethics of filler questions and how necessary it was in order to disguise the aims of the study. Possibility in study 2 of social desirability influencing likelihood to write down death related thoughts as opposed to just think of them.
between self-esteem and satisfaction with life and nostalgia proneness despite the evidence for this in other research and theory, not explored in detail.
Routledge et al. (2011) **
Positive relations
Purpose in Life
Study 1 - 357 (10-71)Study 2 - 53 (NR)Study 3 - 54 (NR)Study 4 - 97 (NR)Study 5 - 43 (NR)Study 6 - 35 (NR)
Study 1 - rated favourite songs on nostalgia, loved and life is worth livingStudy 2 - manipulated nostalgia and measured social relationships and meaning in lifeStudy 3 - manipulated meaning threat and measured state nostalgiaStudy 4 - nostalgia and meaning threat manipulated, measured response to essay.Study 5 - Measured
Author: Study 1 - Nostalgia is associated with increased meaning in life (β=.33) mediated by social connectedness (β=.17) Study 2 - Nostalgia condition increased meaning by elevating levels of nostalgia (β=.25). When social connectedness was controlled this effect was non-significant (β=.33) to suggest a mediation effect.Study 3 - Meaning threat condition led ppts to draw on nostalgia significantly more. Study 4 - opportunity to be nostalgia attenuated meaning threat and reduced defensive responses to essayStudy 5 - For low meaning ppts only, nostalgia increased ratings of vitality (β=1.24)
Author: Nostalgia bolsters a sense of meaning in life mediated by social connectedness. Nostalgia is called on in times of meaning threat. Nostalgia disrupts the link between poor well-being and meaning deficits. Reviewer: Strong studies with good internal validity and control. It is of interest whether these findings could be replicated in longitudinal more ecologically valid studies in the future.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
meaning in life and eudaimonic well-being, manipulated nostalgiaStudy 6 - measured meaning in life, manipulated nostalgia and induced stress
Study 6 - Ppts who were low in meaning were more susceptible to increased stress (β=-.12) however this was attenuated when given the opportunity to be nostalgic (β=-.01).Reviewer: Use of internally valid and reliable measures in most studies and useful for convergent validity to be replicating findings across different methodology/approaches to evoking nostalgia.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Routledge et al (2012)
Purpose in Life
Study 1 - 24 (M=20)Study 2 - 43 (M=20)Study 3 - 34 (M=20)
Study 1 - Nostalgia vs. desired future event vs. recent positive, measured meaning in lifeStudy 2 - Nostalgia vs. recent positive event, measured search for meaningStudy 3 - meaning threat manipulation followed by nostalgia vs. recent positive event, measured presence of meaning
Author:Study 1 - Nostalgia associated with higher presence of meaning than future eventStudy 2 - Nostalgia associated with decreased search for meaning comparative to other conditionsStudy 3 - Perceived meaning was lower in absurd art condition however this was attenuated when given the opportunity to be nostalgicReviewer: Well controlled and reliable methodology. Concern as to the power of the studies due to smaller sample sizes. Confidence intervals and effect sizes not reported.
Author: Nostalgia bolsters meaning in comparison to desired future or recalling recent positive events. It can also attenuate the effect of threat to meaning on presence of meaningReviewer: Lacking in significant evidence to suggest that in study 3 the manipulation had an effect of threat to meaning as the research supporting this manipulation only interpreted findings as being threat to meaning as opposed to measuring this specifically - confound of another factor such as boredom may have been at play. Convergent validity in varied methodology. Limited by cross sectional nature, lacking ecological validity.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Sedikides et al. (2016) **
Self-acceptance
Positive Relations
Study 1 - 40 (29-39)Study 2 - 192 (18-57)Study 3 - 90 (19-73)Study 4 - 93 (19-50)Study 5 - 135 (18-75)Study 6 - 110 (18-80)
Study 1 & 2 - Nostalgia manipulated, measured social connectedness and self-continuityStudy 3 - nostalgia vs. positive affect control, measured social connectedness and self-continuityStudy 4 - manipulated social connectedness, measured social connectedness and self-continuityStudy 5 - manipulated self-continuity and measured eudaimonic well-beingStudy 6 - manipulated nostalgia, measured social connectedness, self-continuity and eudaimonic well-being
Author: Study 1, 2 & 3 - Nostalgia evoked higher feelings of self-continuity (Study 1 - n²=.40, study 2 - n²=.04, study 3 - n²=.19) and social connectedness (study 1 - n²=.24, study 2 - n²=.02, study 3 - n²=.19).Nostalgia on self-continuity is mediated by social connectedness.Study 4 - ppts in higher social connectedness condition, higher self continuity (n²=.08)Study 5 -Ppts in the self-continuity condition reported higher levels of eudaimonic well-being (n²=.04)Study 6 - Nostalgia had a direct effect on social connectedness (β=.23) and self-continuity (β=.20), social connectedness had a direct effect on self continuity (β=.51) and well-being (β=.45) and self-continuity had a direct effect on well-being (β=.28). The effect of nostalgia on self-continuity was mediated by social connectedness (β=.12) and the effect of nostalgia on well-being went via social connectedness (β=.11) and self-continuity (β=.09) Reviewer: Strong, reliable and internally valid methodology, good reporting.
Author: Nostalgia fosters self-continuity through social connectedness and in turn increases eudaimonic well-being.Reviewer: Query whether in study 3 lucky event is synonymous with positive affect and whether a sample who had almost perfect job track record are representative however these were not present in other studies that supported the same conclusions.Conclusions supported by a diverse range of studies using diverse samples and correcting for errors in previous studies. Able to shed light on influence of age/gender/culture as well as causal chain of nostalgia on well-being.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Stephen et al. (2015) **
Study 4, 5 & 6
Self-acceptance
Positive Relations
Study 4 - 60 (19-39)Study 5 - 150 (19-73)Study 6 - 77 (18-50)
Study 4 & 5 - manipulated nostalgia, measured self-esteem and social connectednessStudy 6 - as previous two studies additionally measuring goal pursuit
Author: Study 4, 5 & 6 - Nostalgia significantly increased ratings of social connectedness (study 4 - np²=.22, study 5 - np²=.28, study 6 - np²=.12) and self-esteem (study 4 - np²=.18, study 5 - np²=.17, study 6 - ns). Self-esteem and social connectedness mediate the effect of nostalgia on inspiration and in turn motivation goal pursuit.Reviewer: Limited internal validity and reliability of state measures of social connectedness/self-esteem only 2 items and not established measures. In study 6, as ppts chose 5 goals and then rated goal pursuit it is likely that those more readily available to the ppts are those goals they are currently working on or motivated to work on - query external validity of this.
Author: Nostalgia spawns inspiration via social connectedness and attendant self-esteem. In turn nostalgia evoked inspiration bolsters motivation.Reviewer: Good convergent validity and synthesis of mediation analyses. Of interest to explore in longitudinal studies and look at behaviour as opposed to behavioural intentions/long term perceptions of social support over state measures.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Turner et al. (2013)
Study 2
Positive Relations
Study 2 - 48 (18-23)
Study 2 - nostalgia manipulated and measured social connectedness, out-group trust, out-group attitude, mood, typicality and positivity of selected out-group member
Author:Study 2 - Social connectedness mediated the relationship between nostalgia and inclusion of out-group as self and out-group trust which in turn predicted positive out-group attitudesReviewer: Strong reliable and valid methodology. Of interested to see whether these effects would be found longitudinally or for individuals who do not know someone with a mental health difficulty.
Author: Nostalgia increased social connectedness, which predicted greater inclusion of out-group (mentally ill) as self and out-group trust. Reviewer: Holds the assumption that ppts were in the "out-group" from mental illness and not clear whether having a mental illness was an exclusion criterion. High utility however not as clear cut as suggested in this research e.g. there are lots of sub groups to mental illness such as schizophrenia vs. depression, which are subject to varying levels of stigma. Is nostalgia effective at combating lesser known/rarer mental health difficulties
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
van Dijke et al. (2015)
Study 3, 4 & 5
Positive Relations
Study 3 - 123 (M=20.33)Study 4 - 141 (M=20.01)Study 5 - 173 (M=35.11)
Study 3 - manipulated nostalgia and procedural justice, measured affect, social connectednessStudy 4 - measured nostalgia proneness, manipulated procedural justice, measured social connectedness to researcher and cooperation with researcherStudy 5 - nostalgia and procedural justice manipulated, measured social connectedness, instrumentality and cooperation
Author: Study 3 - Ppts in the low procedural justice (PJ) condition reported lower PJ to the research assistant than those in high procedural justice (n²=.23). Event reflection main effect and interaction were not significant (n²=.02) Study 4 - Significant effect of PJ on social connectedness in a positive direction (β=-.48). No significant effect of nostalgia proneness or nostalgia proneness x procedural justice interaction.Study 5 - Nostalgia condition x procedural justice yielded a significant procedural justice main effect (n²=.34) with low PJ associated with lower social connectedness to supervisor. Nostalgia condition and interaction effects were not significant.Reviewer: These studies have significant methodological flaws which impact upon the validity of conclusions. For example the lack of internal validity in measures of and manipulation of procedural justice, the cultural differences in how valued procedural justice is as well as individual factors surrounding PJ.
Author: Nostalgia functions as a resource that aids individuals with coping with low procedural justice. Nostalgia facilitates cooperation even with authorities and organisations that display low procedural justice.Reviewer:This article presents ethical dilemmas in suggesting ways to increase cooperation when procedural justice is low which could be mis-used - it would be more beneficial to focus on how procedural justice can be increased.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Wildschut et al. (2006)
Study 5 & 6
Positive relations
Self-acceptance
Study 5 - 52 (NR)Study 6 - 54 (NR)
Study 5 & 6- manipulated nostalgia, measured social bonds, positive self-regard and affect
Author: Study 5 - Nostalgia condition was associated with higher social bonds, positive self-regard and positive affectStudy 6 - The findings from study 5 were mirrored and nostalgia was associated with lower attachment anxiety and avoidanceReviewer: Good construct validity, potential influence of manipulation check before DVs leading to experimental demand. No effect sizes or confidence intervals reported.
Author: Nostalgia bolsters social bonds, increases positive self-regard and generates positive affect.Reviewer: Useful initial investigations into the functions of nostalgia.
Wildschut et al. (2010)
Study 4
Positive Relations
Study 4 - 106 (NR)
Study 4 - manipulated nostalgia, measured attachment style, social connectedness, self-esteem, affect
Study 4 - Ppts in the nostalgia condition reported stronger social connectedness than those in the control condition when avoidance was low but not when it was high.Reviewer: Good sample size, possible influence of experimental demand as manipulation check was before DVs. Also limited construct validity of two item DV measures.
Author: Low avoidance individuals derive more social connectedness from nostalgia than did high avoidance individualsReviewer: Important study highlighting the influence of individual differences on the benefits of nostalgia. Future longitudinal research might be beneficial to see whether these factors have a long term influence.
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Study Reference
Well-being Factor Investigated
Participants N (Age*) Design Results
Conclusions/Comments
Zhou et al. (2008)
Study 2, 3 & 4
Positive Relations
Study 2 - 84(18-25)Study 3 - 66 (18-24)Study 4 - 193 (M=25.44)
Study 2 - manipulated loneliness, measured nostalgia and perceived social supportStudy 3 - manipulated nostalgia, measured social supportStudy 4 - measured loneliness, resilience, perceived social support and nostalgia
Author: Study 2 - Ppts in the loneliness condition perceived lower social support (r=-.25) however this was augmented by nostalgia. Study 3 - nostalgia increased perceived social support on two measures (r=.33, r=.21) Study 4 - Resilience did not moderate the association between nostalgia and perceived social support (β=-.10). Resilient and non-resilient people derive perceived social support from nostalgia however high resilient people are more likely to call on nostalgia when lonelyReviewer: Diverse methodology and samples with thorough manipulations of loneliness. In study 3, unsure as to the construct validity of number of friends listed to take part in the study as measure of perceived social support.
Author: The indirect effect of loneliness was to increase perceived social support via nostalgia. This restorative function of nostalgia was particularly apparent among resilient persons.Reviewer: Interesting study also looking at the role of individual differences factors for nostalgia such as resilience. Supports the idea of nostalgia as a tool to cope with loneliness. Potential for future research to get informant to look at perceptions of a ppts resilience to test accuracy of reflections and ecological validity of using nostalgia as a coping mechanism
* NR = not reported, Mean provided when no range (M = n), Range (n-n)** Papers which conducted studies with samples including participants aged 65 years or above
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Nostalgia as a Buffer against Threats to Connection
It is of interest whether nostalgia can buffer against threats to feeling
connected, such as loneliness, a factor that is highly relevant to older adults. Two
studies identified in this review looked to test this hypothesis, one in relation to
loneliness (Zhou et al., 2008) and one in relation to low procedural justice (van Dijke
et al., 2015). Zhou et al. (2008) found that evoking loneliness in participants led to a
decrease in ratings of perceived social support, however nostalgia was found to
reduce this irrespective of scores on a measure of resilience. Although there are
limitations placed on this study by experimentally manipulating loneliness and not
measuring loneliness in populations where it is thought to be naturally high, the
intervention was thorough in that there were several different measures used to
explore perceived social support, all with the same findings. Van Dijke et al. (2015)
found that nostalgia buffered against a low procedural justice intervention to maintain
cooperation. However, there appear to be significant methodological and ethical
dilemmas in these studies. Methodologically speaking, many of the measures used
could be queried on their reliability and internal validity. For example, in study four,
cooperation was measured by number of anagrams completed which is likely to be
skewed by skill at completing anagrams. From another perspective, the conclusion of
the study appears to be ethically problematic. Suggesting ways that individuals can be
subjected to low procedural justice whilst still cooperating opens the research up to
misuse or misapplication. Overall, there is support that nostalgia buffers against
loneliness and the utility this might have for overall well-being. However, the support
and potential utility for a buffering effect of nostalgia on low procedural justice is
questionable and this review only identified two studies that explored this hypothesis.
Positive Relations – The Influence of Individual Differences
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Four studies looked at whether certain individuals are more likely to benefit
from the associations between nostalgia and positive relations identified above than
others (Hart et al., 2011; Wildschut et al., 2006; Wildschut, Sedikides, Routledge,
Arndt, & Cordaro, 2010; Zhou et al., 2008). Wildschut et al. (2006, 2010) looked at
attachment style, finding that state nostalgia increased social connectedness only in
individuals who were low (as opposed to high) in attachment avoidance. These
studies had good sample sizes and methodology. However, participant age was not
reported, limiting how much can be concluded from these studies in relation to older
adults specifically. The influence of narcissism was looked at by one paper, finding
that in relation to feelings of social connectedness, narcissism marginally influenced
the beneficial effect of nostalgia (Hart et al., 2011). Lastly, Zhou et al. (2008) found
that resilience does not significantly predict whether an individual is likely to benefit
from nostalgia however it does positively predict the extent to which they are likely to
call upon nostalgia when lonely. As a highly robust experimental study, these findings
appear to support the conclusion that nostalgia can be a coping mechanism for those
who are resilient enough to be able to call on it when needed. Future research could
investigate whether these findings remain longitudinally.
Self-acceptance
Eleven papers examined constructs akin to self-acceptance (i.e. self-esteem,
self-continuity, self-regard).
Nostalgia and feelings of self-acceptance
An overwhelming number of the papers identified offered findings suggesting
that nostalgia can increase feelings of self-acceptance (Austin & Costabile, 2017;
Baldwin, Biernat, & Landau, 2015; Cheung et al., 2013, 2016; Reid et al., 2015;
Sedikides et al., 2016; Stephan et al., 2015; Wildschut et al., 2006). These studies
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together have high convergent validity, drawing the same conclusions through a
variety of methodologies. For example: nostalgia was evoked through the event
reflection task and through scent (Reid et al., 2015). Self-acceptance was also
operationalised in several different internally reliable and valid ways: from measures
of self-reported self-esteem and self-authenticity to self-continuity and positive self-
regard. The effect sizes drawn from each of these studies were consistently high.
Three of these studies also include older adult participants in their samples suggesting
that these findings are applicable to the older generation (Cheung et al., 2016;
Sedikides et al., 2016; Stephan et al., 2015). However, all of these studies are cross-
sectional, experimental designs.
Two studies exploring the relationship between nostalgia and self-acceptance
drew awareness to areas not accounted for in the above studies (Austin & Costabile,
2017; Batcho, DaRin, Nave, & Yaworsky, 2008). Batcho et al. (2008) found that the
extent to which participants were exploring their identity positively predicted the
likelihood they would be high in nostalgia proneness. Baldwin et al. (2015) found that
nostalgia is associated with lower intrinsic self-threat to a significant and strong
effect. These findings could suggest that nostalgia may have a buffering effect on
well-being. However, neither of these studies tests this hypothesis directly therefore
further research in this area is needed. Austin and Constabile (2017) draw attention to
the influence of the content of the memory recalled in relation to the influence of
nostalgia on self-acceptance. They found that only when the content of the memory
contained communal themes was nostalgia mediating the relationship between the
memory and increased self-esteem. The relationship between agentic themed
memories and self-esteem occurred independently of nostalgia. Most other studies
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have not tested this idea however it could be relevant to other aspects of well-being as
well.
Mediating and Mediated
One paper conducted in depth mediation analyses including the variables of
self-acceptance and nostalgia to establish a causal chain (Sedikides et al., 2016).
Sedikides et al. (2016) found through six studies that the effect of nostalgia on self-
continuity was mediated by feelings of social connectedness and that both self-
continuity and social connectedness mediated the relationship between nostalgia and
well-being. These findings tie in well with Batcho et al.’s (2008) results that nostalgia
mediates the relationship between the type of memory and increased self-acceptance
only when the memory is a social one. The diverse methodology and consistency of
findings in the Sedikides et al.(2016) paper offer strong support for the conclusion
that nostalgia positively influences self-acceptance and that this is mediated by social
connectedness and mediates the effect of nostalgia on overall well-being.
As well as looking at mediators of the effect of nostalgia on self-acceptance,
two papers have explored whether this relationship mediates other factors (Baldwin et
al., 2015; Stephan et al., 2015). They found that nostalgia predicts growth oriented
behavioural intentions (Baldwin et al., 2015) and inspiration and motivation goal
pursuit (Stephan et al., 2015), both of which were found to be mediated by positive
self-regard and self-esteem respectively. Although Baldwin et al.’s findings can be
called into question due to the lack of a reliable manipulation check, Stephan et al.’s
(2015) findings were consistent across six studies offering internal reliability and
convergent validity. It seems that state nostalgia can increase feelings of self-
acceptance in the short term and that it also has the potential to mediate other factors
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that are positive for well-being such as inspiration and goal pursuit, creating a positive
loop.
Individual Differences
Two studies have explored which individuals are most likely to reap the
benefits of the relationship between nostalgia and self-acceptance focusing
specifically on nostalgia proneness (Cheung et al., 2016) and narcissism (Hart et al.,
2011). In relation to nostalgia proneness, those high in nostalgia proneness were
found to be most likely to experience increased feelings of self-esteem following a
nostalgia intervention (Cheung et al., 2016). Although only one study, Cheung et al.
(2016) used thorough and internally valid methodology as well as a large sample with
a diverse age range to include older adults. One conclusion that could be drawn from
this is that nostalgia is a skill that when practiced means that individuals are more
likely to reap its benefits. However, this cannot be concluded from one study alone.
Hart et al. (2011) appear to have taken this further with their study into narcissism and
nostalgia, suggesting that perhaps individual differences can influence which well-
being factors are improved by engaging in nostalgia. They found that narcissism
significantly predicted a beneficial effect of nostalgia on self-positivity. It is possible
that our personality type amplifies some of the benefits of nostalgia but undermines
the benefits of others.
Purpose in Life
Five papers conducted studies looking into constructs akin to purpose in life
(i.e. meaning in life). All five of these papers included studies supporting the
conclusion that being given the opportunity to be nostalgic comparative to a control
increased participants feelings of meaning and purpose in life. These findings were
consistent across various methods of evoking nostalgia for example scent (Reid et al.,
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2015) and through a writing task (Baldwin & Landau, 2014) as well as on participants
of a range of ages and samples including older adults (Routledge et al., 2011).
Furthermore, support was found when both nostalgia and meaning were manipulated
(Routledge, Wildschut, Sedikides, Juhl, & Arndt, 2012). It appears that there is strong
convergent validity in these findings.
Of particular interest when assessing whether nostalgia is likely to be
beneficial to older adults is whether nostalgia could buffer against threats to purpose
in life. Three papers explored this (Routledge et al., 2011, 2008, 2012). Through two
studies, Routledge et al. (2008) found that when mortality salience was evoked in
participants, high nostalgia proneness attenuated the impact of mortality salience on
their sense of meaning in life. Additionally, nostalgia proneness buffered against
death-thought accessibility. Similarly in Routledge et al.’s (2012) fourth study, for
participants given the opportunity to be nostalgic in response to a meaning threat,
their responses to the meaning threatening essay were less defensive. Unfortunately
these studies did not include older adults in the sample and meaning threats were
evoked through intervention to increase the level of experimental control. It is of
interest to consider whether building on these studies to explore meaning threats as
they naturally occur for example in older adults, whether these findings are replicated.
Finally, one study looked at whether the relationship between nostalgia and purpose
in life is mediated by other variables and part of a causal chain. As explored above,
some research suggests that nostalgia’s relationship with self-acceptance is mediated
by positive relations (Sedikides et al., 2016). Similarly, Routledge et al. (2011) found
that the relationship between nostalgia and purpose in life is also mediated by social
connectedness. This was tested and validated across two robust and reliable studies,
including older adult participants.
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Life Satisfaction
Four studies explored the relationship between life satisfaction and nostalgia
in experimental designs with conflicting findings. Two studies suggest that a nostalgia
intervention, comparative to control, positively predicted life satisfaction (Baldwin et
al., 2015; Cox et al., 2015). These papers offer differing methodological strengths for
example one paper having high ecological validity by using blogging sites to evoke
nostalgia (Cox et al., 2015) and the other having good internal and convergent validity
through several studies with differing methodology (Baldwin et al., 2015). Both have
large effect sizes for the relationship between nostalgia and life satisfaction. In direct
contrast, Routledge et al. (2008) in some minor analyses in their main study found
that nostalgia proneness was not significantly correlated with life satisfaction.
Although the main finding of the study, that the relationship between nostalgia and
death thought accessibility could not be accounted for by life satisfaction, appeared to
be strongly supported, theoretically a correlation between nostalgia proneness and life
satisfaction would have been expected. Therefore, it is possible that being in a state of
nostalgia, as occurs in experimental designs, increases life satisfaction however being
prone to nostalgia outside the testing room is not associated with life satisfaction.
However, causality cannot be determined in this study and therefore further research
is required, using experimental designs.
The final study nods to the potential influence of other factors by looking at
how individual differences might influence whether there is a relationship between
nostalgia and life satisfaction. Iyer and Jetten (2011) found that nostalgia negatively
predicted life satisfaction when participant’s identity continuity was low, however,
there was no significant effect of nostalgia on life satisfaction when identity
continuity was high. As with some studies explored above, the nostalgia manipulation
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check was not reliable therefore it is hard to be certain whether the findings were due
to the intervention. Furthermore, the data was taken from a larger questionnaire,
therefore the potential influence of other measures within the questionnaire on
participant ratings is unknown. However, it is one of the few studies that has looked at
nostalgia longitudinally therefore the difference to findings from cross sectional
designs is of interest. It is possible that this study demonstrates the limits of nostalgia
in relation to the disparity between past and present, specifically in relation to
continuity of identity, where if there is a large disparity, nostalgia is likely to have a
negative effect. The impact of context and this individual differences factor is an
important consideration for future research.
Personal Growth
Only one paper looked at personal growth (Baldwin & Landau, 2014). Their
studies found that nostalgia versus control intervention increased growth-oriented
self-perceptions and behavioural intentions. This effect of nostalgia was found to be
mediated by positive self-regard only and not by belongingness and meaning in life.
Strong effect sizes were noted for both self-perceptions and behavioural intentions of
growth from nostalgia. However, it is clear that further research is needed into the
possible effect of nostalgia on this well-being factor through more sound methods.
Drawing on this study and making methodological improvements is a helpful place
for this research to start.
Environmental Mastery and Autonomy
None of the twenty two papers identified in this review looked specifically at
constructs akin to environmental mastery or autonomy (i.e. independence). However,
one paper looked at all of the Ryff and Keyes (1995)well-being factors including
environmental mastery and autonomy (see below).
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Global Well-being
One study found in this review used the Ryff and Keyes (1995) well-being
factors explored in turn above to look more broadly at the influence nostalgia may
have on overall well-being (Hepper et al., 2014). In study one of this paper, the
sample had a large age range allowing the influence of age on the relationship
between nostalgia and well-being to be explored. They found that age was more
positively (or less negatively in the case of personal growth) associated with well-
being for individuals that were high in nostalgia proneness, suggesting that nostalgia
can be a tool to buffer against age as a threat to well-being. This supports the
likelihood that nostalgia is more beneficial for well-being in older adults due to age
being a threat to well-being. Study two echoed the findings of study one but in a more
controlled, experimental design. Time-limitedness was induced and nostalgia was
found to buffer against the negative effect of time limitedness on well-being.
Although these are only two studies, in both studies the effects of nostalgia was
consistent across well-being dimensions which preliminarily provides support that
nostalgia is not only beneficial for well-being but that it is likely to be particularly
beneficial for older adults.
Discussion
Various theoretical explorations have been made as to the positive influence
nostalgia may have on well-being in older adults; however there is limited empirical
investigation in this population. This review explored the literature on well-being and
nostalgia in working age adults to consider whether nostalgia might have a positive
effect on older adults. Factors considered important for well-being in older adults
were used as a framework for this exploration.
Summary of findings
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Twenty two papers were identified in this review and the well-being factors
with the most research were positive relations, self-acceptance and meaning in life. In
relation to positive relations, various methodologically sound and diverse studies
found support that nostalgia increases feelings of social connectedness and motivates
social behaviour. Additionally, several studies investigating different well-being
factors found that the relationship between nostalgia and positive relations mediated
the relationship between nostalgia and other well-being factors such as self-
acceptance and meaning in life. Studies focusing on self-acceptance and meaning in
life found similarly strong support that nostalgia has a positive effect on these well-
being factors, creating a body of evidence with high levels of convergent validity. The
number of papers investigating the effect of nostalgia on personal growth, autonomy
and environmental mastery were limited. Of the studies that have conducted
investigations in these areas, support was found for a positive relationship between
nostalgia and the respective well-being factor. Further research is needed to offer
convergent validity to these findings and to open conversations as to the potential
utility of such findings.
In relation to satisfaction with life, the various studies looking at this construct
of well-being offered mixed findings. Some suggested that nostalgia does have a
positive effect on satisfaction with life where one study found that satisfaction with
life was not positively associated with nostalgia proneness. This disparity could be
explained through the different types of nostalgia investigated in relation to
satisfaction with life, with state nostalgia being explored in the studies offering
support whereas trait nostalgia was not found to be positively associated with
satisfaction with life. It is possible that nostalgia is only beneficial in the moment, as
opposed to a general tendency to be nostalgic significantly impacting upon your
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satisfaction with life. From another perspective, it is possible that satisfaction with life
is more contingent upon external factors such as success, financial stability or
occupational achievements, comparative to the more moral, internal and spiritual
well-being factors explored above.
It is of interest that, in addition to support for a positive effect of nostalgia on
well-being factors, there is support for a buffering effect of nostalgia against threats to
well-being. Studies found that nostalgia buffered threats to well-being i.e. positive
relations against loneliness, self-acceptance against low self-continuity, and meaning
in life against a sense of time limitedness. Loneliness and time limitedness are of
particular interest for the older population where these variables are likely to be
naturally occurring and therefore might have a negative effect on well-being if not
buffered against by some form of coping mechanism.
Across studies looking at different well-being factors, several individual
differences factors were considered and explored, looking at the role they play in
moderating the relationship between nostalgia and well-being, for example:
attachment style, narcissism, nostalgia proneness, self-continuity and resilience. These
studies appear to suggest that nostalgia is not equally beneficial for everyone and
starts to consider the question, for whom is nostalgia most effective? Awareness and
consideration of these factors in future research and real life applications of nostalgia
is important to ensure that it is being utilised for those who are most likely to see a
benefit.
Strengths, Limitations and Future Directions
The current body of literature exploring nostalgia and well-being utilises
highly controlled, reliable and internally valid methods to allow causal links and
chains to be identified. As a foundation for exploring the potential utility of nostalgia,
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these studies provide a strong one from which to build upon. In addition, although
most studies utilise similar methodology of experimental designs, there are varying
methods through which nostalgia is evoked (e.g. written, scent, music etc.) and
differing measures of each of the well-being constructs. This allows the findings to
take on high convergent validity.
The nostalgia literature has rapidly increased in the last 20 years, shedding
light on our understanding of its beneficial qualities. However, the clearest gap in the
literature, from this review, is exploration of its benefits in older adults. Of the twenty
two papers identified in this review, only five of them included adults over the age of
65 years old, and none looked exclusively at older adults. There are many reasons
identified as to why nostalgia is likely to be as, or if not more, beneficial for older
adults, supporting a need for research in this population. Firstly, the five studies
including older adult participants did not find differing findings to those completed
without older adults, suggesting that the presence of older adults in the sample did not
significantly skew the findings. One study gave some support that nostalgia might
actually be more likely to benefit older adults, finding that older adults and young
adults were more prone to nostalgia (Wolf, 2014). If nostalgia is naturally higher in
older adults, this might be because it serves a function. Secondly, all of the factors
deemed important in older adult well-being had studies offering support for the
positive effect of nostalgia on these factors. This suggests nostalgia might be
targeting the specific well-being factors important in the older population. Finally, the
papers in this review also identified the ability of nostalgia to buffer against threats to
well-being highly relevant in older adults such as mortality salience, time limitedness
and death anxiety (Hepper et al., 2016; Juhl, Routledge, Arndt, Sedikides, &
Wildschut, 2010; Routledge et al., 2008). Older adults are thought to be highly
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vulnerable to loneliness and boredom due to life events associated with ageing
(Halvorsrud & Kalfoss, 2007). Studies from this review found that nostalgia can
buffer against loneliness and boredom (Hepper et al., 2016; van Tilburg et al., 2013;
Wildschut et al., 2006). Therefore, again nostalgia is likely to be highly beneficial to
the older adult population and further research should be done in this area.
Very few studies have explored nostalgia in more ecologically valid settings
or have shifted the focus from state nostalgia to nostalgia proneness. There is room
for future research conducted in a longitudinal way to add to the existing cross-
sectional literature to test the relationship between nostalgia and well-being, and its
limits, further. The focus on state nostalgia has been of high value in being able to
identify causal chains and remove the influence of confounds on any observed
relationship between nostalgia and well-being. However, a move towards exploring
nostalgia proneness, as some of the research in this review has begun to do, is likely
to be fruitful for the utility of this body of literature. These directions are likely to
answer questions of who is making use of nostalgia in everyday life, is it beneficial
for well-being and, if so, could their approach be shared to benefit less nostalgia prone
individuals.
ImplicationsAlthough there are significant gaps in the literature, particularly for older adult
populations, the existing body of literature provides an interesting springboard to
consider practical implications of such findings. Given the numerous studies
supporting the positive effects of nostalgia for well-being, implications for how
nostalgia could be used to improve well-being in the general population can be
considered. As previously mentioned, Reminiscence Therapy (RT) is an approach to
utilising nostalgia to benefit individuals experiencing mental health difficulties and
neuro-degenerative conditions (Bohlmeijer et al., 2007; Elias et al., 2015; Hsieh &
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Wang, 2003; Woods et al., 2005). Considerations for how these interventions could be
used by individuals who are experiencing poor well-being in the community but
perhaps do not meet the criteria for a diagnosed mental health diagnosis could be of
interest. Utilising these techniques in community groups or charitable organisations
could act as preventative approaches to mental health and well-being in the general
population.
In a similar vein, initiatives to utilise nostalgia in young people might also
offer preventative approaches to support mental health and well-being. Although
debate exists in the literature about whether social media is beneficial for well-being,
it is possible that incorporating nostalgia in to social media and online networking
might benefit well-being; for example: TimeHop or photos from ‘this time a year ago’
on Facebook or designing an app to review old pictures or text messages. Similar,
simple approaches could be trialled to see whether increasing accessibility to
nostalgia via digital and social media could improve well-being in a meaningful way.
Conclusion
Overall, the majority of well-being factors that this review conceptualised as
relevant to older adult well-being found strong support for being increased by state
nostalgia. These add to the strong theoretical assertions that nostalgia is likely to be
particularly beneficial for older adults; it can buffer against threats to well-being that
older adults are most vulnerable to and older adults are naturally higher in nostalgia
proneness suggesting they may already be using nostalgia as a positive resource.
Despite the above empirical and theoretical support, this review identified a clear lack
of research specifically on the older adult population, therefore supporting the
rationale for such research. The existing body of literature on nostalgia and well-being
reviewed here offers a strong foundation and a consistent, unified approach to
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investigating nostalgia from which to draw on. This will allow for strong comparisons
to be made between older adults and working age or younger populations in relation
to the impact of nostalgia on well-being. Although there appears to be another gap in
the nostalgia literature of looking longitudinally and in more ecologically valid ways
it is important to explore one aspect at a time. Should research conducted support a
positive effect of nostalgia on well-being in older adults using similar, controlled
methods utilitised in existing research, at this point additional research could be
conducted to test these findings in a longitudinal method.
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Part 3 – Clinical Experience
Adult Community Mental Health Team (1 year)
This placement was in an assessment and treatment service for adults aged 18 to 65 years based in the community. Clients presented with a range of difficulties including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorder, and psychosis. Work completed on this placement included: one to one therapeutic work with individuals using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approaches, assessment using semi-structured interviews and outcome measures, neuropsychological assessment of cognitive functioning (e.g. WAIS, WMS), co-facilitating a group workshop (Coping Skills), contact with service-users and carers organisations, working within a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) including team meetings and supervision of an Assistant Psychologist.
Older Adult Inpatient and Community Mental Health Team (6 months)
This placement was based across two teams for individuals aged 65 years and above. For one and a half days a week, it was based across two inpatient wards (one for older adults and one specifically for older adults with a diagnosis of dementia). Work included: co-facilitating staff reflective space, neuropsychological assessment, support for inpatients on the ward, co-facilitating a music group on the dementia ward and putting together positive behavioural support plans (PBS). For the other one and half days a week, it was based in a community mental health team for individuals aged 65 years and above. Work included: assessment using semi-structure interviews and outcome measures, neuropsychological and dementia assessment, one to one therapeutic work using psycho-dynamic approaches and CBT for clients experiencing anxiety, depression or bereavement, staff training on personality disorder in older adults, and supervision of an Assistant Psychologist.
Community Team for People with Learning Disabilities (6 months)
This placement was in a community team for people with a diagnosed or suspected Learning Disability (LD) with ages ranging from 18 years onwards. Work was either with individuals presenting with mental health difficulties or query LD or with the
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system around an individual with a LD such as residential settings or families. Work included: assessment from multiple perspectives using outcome measures, therapeutic one to one work with an individual with LD and anxiety using adapted CBT, neuropsychological assessments for dementia and LD, behavioural work utilising PBS model with the family of an individual with LD, two staff consultations with residential homes supporting individuals with LD, working within an MDT and contributing to meetings, and presentation to the team on compassion focused therapy.
Child and Adolescent Community Mental Health Team (6 months)
This placement was based in a community team for children and young people aged 4 to 18 years. Presenting difficulties ranged from Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), anxiety, depression, Tourette’s Syndrome, misophonia, psychosis, OCD, and self-harm. Work on this placement included: systemic assessment using outcome measures, neuropsychological assessment of cognitive functioning (WIAT, WISC), contributing to ADOS assessment, family history taking with parents to inform ASD/ADHD assessment, contact with service user groups, work with family therapists in reflecting team using systemic approaches, one to one therapeutic work with young people alongside parental support and systemic considerations (using CBT approaches) and consultation to school staff on anxiety in children.
Department of Psychological Therapy in Specialist Hospital (6 months)
This placement was based in the Psychological therapies team supporting a specialist hospital for people of all ages. The therapies team supports Burns Unit, Maxillofacial, sleep clinic, facial palsy and anomaly clinics, cancer units, outpatients and staff members. Work on this placement included: responding to urgent calls from wards for patient support, running the facial palsy clinic, supporting families and young people on burns unit with body image, trauma and adjustment, weekly staff support using CBT approaches, co-facilitating a CBT based sleep group for clients with insomnia, one to one therapeutic work with an girl experiencing anxiety and body image difficulties in the context of cleft palate and bulling (CBT), couples therapy working on intimacy following trauma, meeting with various professionals to learn about leadership roles, overnight sleep observation, co-facilitating food and eating group for staff members, shadowing speech and language therapist, delivering anxiety for falls presentation to older adult group, mental capacity assessments and risk assessment, and research evaluation of sleep groups.
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Part 4 - Assessments
PSYCHD CLINICAL PROGAMMETABLE OF ASSESSMENTS COMPLETED DURING TRAINING1
Year I AssessmentsASSESSMENT TITLE
WAIS WAIS Interpretation (online assessment)Practice Report of Clinical Activity
Case report of Sarah: a female, young adult experiencing low mood, suicidal ideation and social anxiety. Assessment and formulation from a CBT perspective.
Audio Recording of Clinical Activity with Critical Appraisal
Audio Recording of Clinical Activity with Critical Appraisal
Report of Clinical Activity N=1
Case report of Martin: a male in his early fifties experiencing GAD and low mood. Assessment and CBT-based intervention.
Major Research Project Literature Survey
Could Nostalgia have a beneficial effect on well-being in older adults? A systematic review.
Major Research Project Proposal
MRP Proposal: Is Nostalgia Beneficial for Well-being in Older Adults?
Service-Related Project Service Related Project
Year II AssessmentsASSESSMENT TITLE
Report of Clinical Activity – Formal Assessment
Case report of Terry: a male in his early seventies with an intellectual disability. Formal assessment, formulation and recommendations.
PPLD Process Account PPDLG Group Process Account: Formative
Year III Assessments ASSESSMENT TITLE
Presentation of Clinical Activity
Assessment, formulation and intervention with Paul; a male in his early forties with an intellectual disability and Autistic Spectrum Condition.
1 Note all names included in assignment titles are pseudonyms and not identifiable information from clients.
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Major Research Project Literature Review
Could Nostalgia have a Positive Effect on Well-being in Older Adults? A systematic Review
Major Research Project Empirical Paper
The Functions of Nostalgia for Well-being in Older Adults
Report of Clinical Activity
Case report of Sam; a school-age boy experiencing separation and generalised anxiety. Assessment, formulation and intervention.
Final Reflective Account
On becoming a clinical psychologist: A retrospective, developmental, reflective account of the experience of training
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