Abstract
The author investigated the efficacy of a reminiscence group in increasing life satisfaction in elderly female nursing home residents. E. Erikson's (1982) developmental theory and R. N. Butler's (1981) theory of reminiscing provided the theoretical framework for the study. It was hypothesized that reminiscing would increase life satisfaction when measured by the Life Satisfaction Index A (Neugarten et al., 1961). The design was experimental, using pretest and posttest data collection. Thirty-six female nursing home residents over 65 years of age were randomly assigned to a reminiscing group or a control group. A statistically significant difference (p = .03) was found between the reminiscing group and the control group on the dependent variable, life satisfaction, when data were analyzed using an analysis of covariance. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

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