Robert Butler's call for life reviews has exerted a key influence on the way gerontologists have looked at reminiscence and remembering. Widely thought to be a helpful mechanism for integrating past and future, the process of life review needs better specification and evaluation based on sound research. ""The Meaning of Reminiscence and Life Review"" brings together both research and application pieces covering the range of possibilities. It examines important controversies and asks: ""Does it work?"" and ""What is the evidence?"" Given their own voice, what do old people say about looking back?
Introduction: Looking Back on My Self: The Meaning of the Past Jon Hendricks
SECTION I: LIFE REVIEW AS CONCEPTUAL INTEGRATION Butler's Life Review: How Universal Is It? Sharan B. Merriam
Reminiscing: The State of the Art as a Basis for Practice Barbara K. Haight
Reminiscence, Adaptation, and Social Context in Old Age Debra David
SECTION II: RESEARCH INTO THE ROLE OF LIFE REVIEW Life Patterns and Age Styles in Older Adults Peter Martin
Individual Differences in Reminiscence among Older Adults: Predictors of Frequency and Pleasantness Ratings of Reminiscence Activity P.S. Fry
If You Had Your Life to Live Over Again: What Would You Do Differently? Mary Kay DeGenova
A Study of Autobiographical Memories in Depressed and Nondepressed Elderly Individuals Janet Anderson Yang and Lynn P. Rehm
Including Social Factors in the Analysis of Reminiscence in Elderly Individuals Simone Lammé and Jan Baars
SECTION III: REMINISCENCE AND LIFE REVIEW AS INTERVENTION The Autobiographical Group: A Tool for the Reconstruction of Past Life Experience with the Aged Luis Botella and Guillem Feixas
Themes in Reminiscence Groups with Older Women Irene Burnside
Styles of Reminiscence and Ego Development of Older Women Residing in Long-Term Care Settings Sarah Reese Beaton
Reminiscence, Life Review, and Ego Integrity in Nursing Home Residents Lois B. Taft and Milton F. Nehrke
Reminiscentia: Cherished Objects as Memorabilia in Late-Life Reminiscence Edmund Sherman
Mourning and Reminiscence: Parallel Psychotherapeutic Processes for Elderly People
Linda L. Viney, Yvonne N. Benjamin, and Carol Preston
Contributors
Biography
Jon Hendricks
