Memory improvement in octogenarians

This pre-post quasiexperimental study tested the eight-session Cognitive Behavioral Model of Everyday Memory in residents (58 women, 20 men) of a retirement village in Northeast Ohio. Their average age was 82 years, with 16 years of education and Mini-Mental State Examination score of 28; 13% were depressed. All participants were pretested and posttested at 8 weeks. The largest gains were in memory self-efficacy and use of internal memory strategies. Moderate gains were made in instrumental activities and change, and smaller gains were made in locus and memory performance. The dose of the intervention (eight sessions) was adequate, and practice in each class session facilitated mastery of memory strategies and techniques.