INTRODUCTION

: Problems like loneliness, loss of physical agility and social role changes become particularly important in old age. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of Positive Psychology interventions on the alleviation of depression symptoms, and the improvement of psychological and social well-being in elderly people (aged 60-91 years old) that attend senior centers in the city of Buenos Aires.

METHODS

: The sample consisted of 73 older adults (87.7% women), equally distributed in two groups: intervention and control. The design was quasi-experimental, with repeated measures pre-test/post-test.

RESULTS

: A 2 x 2 mixedANOVA was applied, with the time of measurement (pre-test, post-test) as repeated measurement factor and the experimental condition (intervention, control) as a group factor. There was a main effect of the experimental condition on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) score: the depressive symptom indicator was lower during post-test phase, but only for the intervention group. Scores in psychological and social well-being did not show any statistically significant change.

DISCUSSION

: the intervention group showed a reduction of depression symptoms. It is recommended to evaluate the impact of the intervention on other variables, check long-term effects, and deepen the study in clinical population.

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