Studio sull'efficacia di due modellli di psicoterapia appliacti a un gruppo di pazienti geriatriche istituzionalizzate

The effects of two different group -psychotherapy techniques (i.e. Specific and aspecific therapy) on a sample (n=82) of istituzionalized anxious and/or depressed geriatric woman were analyzed in a double-blind study. To evaluate the individual level of anxiety and/or depression, The State Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) were given to all subjects before the study started and after three month of therapy: all the subjects included in the sample obtained a score superior to 50 in the STAI and/or superior to 20 in the CES-D. After three months of therapy, no patients exhibited any significant modification of the depression scores. The STAI scores of the subjects who received the Specific Therapy were however significantly lower, while those of the patients who had undergone Aspecific Therapy remained quite costant. Finally, a tendency towards an increase in anxiety scores was detected in the controls