From the life cycle perspective, the aging is described as the strengthening of adaptive resources and the capacity for recovery or compensation for losses. These skills are grounded in the coping strategies that individuals apply in order to effectively adapt to diverse situations. Emotion-focused, passive coping strategies are considered to be maladaptive in the long term. These strategies are associated with affective disorders, being these phenomena of great impact in older adults.

Verify if there is a relationship between emotion-focused coping strategies and depressive symptoms

The sample was composed of 418 healthy older adults, aged between 60 and 89 years with an average age of 69.67 years and SD = 7.24, 63.6% of the participants are women and the remaining 36.4% are men. The Coping Stress Questionnaire was used to evaluate strategies focused on emotion (Sandín & Chorot, 2003). The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Radloff & Teri, 1986) was used to evaluate depressive symptoms.

Depressive symptomatology showed significant associations with all emotion-focused strategies: negative self-focus (.339), open emotional expression (.279), avoidance (.202) and religion (113) with a significance level of 0.05.

Emotion-focused coping strategies are associated with depressive symptomatology. Thus, it is considered that the use of these types of strategies in times of change or challenge will not benefit adaptation in the older adult. It is necessary to develop more active coping strategies for prevention in mental health during aging.

No significant relationships.

It is clear from the literature that depressive disorder is closely related to lifestyle, however the relationship between burnout and lifestyle remains unclear.

The aim of this study was to present a comprehensive overview of depressive symptoms, burnout and lifestyle over the years. Furthermore, this study looks at the relationship between burnout, depressive symptomatology and lifestyle and seeks to clarify the extent to which burnout can be explained by these variables.

Data collection took place in three waves. The first data collection was in 2014 (October/November), the second in 2017 (March) and the third in 2020 (March). The STEM/MARK agency conducted the data collection and collected answers from a representative sample of respondents using the CAWI method - computer-assisted questioning. These respondents were selected from the European National Panel. Because the target group was adults (18-65 years), an online survey was chosen. Internet penetration in this target population is sufficient and it was not necessary to use a combination of methodologies.

All 3 data collections identically show that for the model explaining burnout statistically significant variables are: age, depression and fatigue during the day. Other variables related to healthy lifestyles did not reach statistical significance.

Even though the variables regarding healthy lifestyles have not reached statistical significance, their importance should not be underestimated. Mental well-being is closely linked to physical health and therefore a holistic approach to health should be emphasized and the rate of burnout should be regularly monitored.

No significant relationships.

Preliminary evidence suggests beneficial effects of cognitive remediation in depression. An update of the current evidence is needed. The aim was to systematically assess the effectiveness of cognitive remediation in depression on three outcomes.

The meta-analysis was pre-registered on PROSPERO (CRD42019124316). PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and Cochrane Library were searched on 2 February 2019 and 8 November 2020 for peer-reviewed published articles. We included randomized and non-randomized clinical trials comparing cognitive remediation to control conditions in adults with primary depression. Random-effects models were used to calculate Hedges' g, and moderators were assessed using mixed-effects subgroup analyses and meta-regression. Main outcome categories were post-treatment depressive symptomatology (DS), cognitive functioning (CF) and daily functioning (DF).

We identified 5221 records and included 21 studies reporting on 24 comparisons, with 438 depressed patients receiving cognitive remediation and 540 patients in a control condition. We found a small effect on DS (g = 0.28, 95% CI 0.09–0.46, I2 40%), a medium effect on CF (g = 0.60, 95% CI 0.37–0.83, I2 44%) and a small effect on DF (g = 0.22, 95% CI 0.06–0.39, I2 3%). There were no significant effects at follow-up. Confounding bias analyses indicated possible overestimation of the DS and DF effects in the original studies.

Cognitive remediation in depression improves CF in the short term. The effects on DS and DF may have been overestimated. Baseline depressive symptom severity should be considered when administering cognitive remediation.

Although there is substantial evidence for the efficacy of life review therapy as an early treatment of depression in later life, its effectiveness in natural settings has not been studied. The present study evaluates an intervention based on life review and narrative therapy in a large multi-site, pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Life review therapy was compared with care as usual. The primary outcome was depressive symptoms; secondary outcomes were anxiety symptoms, positive mental health, quality of life, and current major depressive episode (MDE). To identify groups for whom the intervention was particularly effective, moderator analyses were carried out (on sociodemographic variables, personality traits, reminiscence functions, clinically relevant depressive and anxiety symptoms, and past MDEs).

Compared with care as usual (n=102), life review therapy (n=100) was effective in reducing depressive symptoms, at post-treatment (d=0.60, B=−5.3, p<0.001), at 3-month follow-up (d=0.50, B=−5.0, p<0.001) and for the intervention also at 9-month follow-up (t=5.7, p<0.001). The likelihood of a clinically significant change in depressive symptoms was significantly higher [odds ratio (OR) 3.77, p<0.001 at post-treatment; OR 3.76, p<0.001 at the 3-month follow-up]. Small significant effects were found for symptoms of anxiety and positive mental health. Moderator analyses showed only two significant moderators, the personality trait of extraversion and the reminiscence function of boredom reduction.

This study shows the effectiveness of life review therapy as an early intervention for depression in an ecologically valid context, supporting its applicability to a broad target group. The intervention is also effective in reducing anxiety symptoms and strengthening positive mental health.