The impact of a yoga intervention on the mental well-being and physical functioning in older adults living in the community
Abstract
The aim of this study is to test the efficacy of a yoga program as an intervention for mental well-being and physical functioning for older adults living in the community. Mental well-being and physical functioning have been shown to be contributing factors to depression. The practice of yoga can improve physical functioning, as well as address the mind and spirit and increase self-awareness and self-purpose to improve mental well-being. Using a classical experimental design, a total of 18 participants were randomly assigned to either a yoga or a socialization group that met for one; hour twice a week for four weeks. The results of this study showed that while the yoga group scores improved from pre- to posttest with respect to depression, morale, hope, loneliness, lower body strength, and flexibility, the results were not statistically significant. The socialization group also showed improvement from pre- to posttest in morale, hope, balance, reach; however, these results were not statistically significant. For the socialization group loneliness scores showed a statistically significant improvement between pre- and posttest. Overall, there were no significant differences in any of the outcome measures between the two groups at posttest. Implications for social work research and practice are offered based on the experience and challenges faced in recruiting and retaining a community sample and conducting intervention research.
Subject Area
Gerontology|Social work|Physiological psychology
Recommended Citation
Wang, Donna S, "The impact of a yoga intervention on the mental well-being and physical functioning in older adults living in the community" (2009). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3365060.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3365060
