The participants in this study were 8 women (53.33%) and 7 men (46.66%). The two groups of the study, i.e. the experimental and control groups, were identical with regards to the demographic characteristics since there was no significant statistical difference between the two groups with regards to all demographic variables ( ). Table 1 presents the demographic information for individual participants.
Objectives and the Content of the Training
Table 1 Comparing the Frequency of Main Variables (Number and Percentage) for the Experimental and Control Groups
Based on analysis of variance with repeated measures and considering the significance of the mutual impact of time/group, the results show that the scores of the subscale of self-esteem in the pretest aren’t significantly different between the two groups. However, when comparing the mean scores of posttest, the scores for self-esteem of the patients participating in the group logotherapy sessions were significantly higher than the self-esteem scores of the elderly not attending the logotherapy sessions ( ). For all the dimensions, the decrease in scores for the experimental group was higher than that of the control group.
When following up on the patients one month after the intervention, self-esteem for the experimental group was still high; however, in the next follow up, which was three months after the intervention, the level of self-esteem for the experimental group was lower than the previous measurements. After the intervention, the score for self-esteem was still higher than the score before the intervention. This is while the self-esteem scores of the participants in the control group didn’t show any significant difference during the study (Table 2 and Figure 1). On the other hand, the variation in the experimental group was non-linear ( ), while the variations in the control group were linear.
Table 2 Comparing the Changes in Adjusted Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores for Self-Esteem in the Experimental and Control Groups during the Study
Figure 1 Comparing the Changes in Adjusted Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores for Self-Esteem in the Experimental and Control Groups during the Study
When comparing the average scores for interpersonal communication skills before, immediately after, one month after, and three months after the intervention between the experimental and control groups, the results show that before the intervention, the average score for the experimental group was not much different than the average score for the control group. However, after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the average scores ( ). In addition, the trend of changes during the follow-up period was significant ( ) and remained high. The results indicate that immediately after and one month after the intervention, there is a significant difference between the two groups with regards to the scores for the interpersonal communication skills ( ). However, when measuring three months after the intervention, while the scores for communication skills in the experimental group were higher than those for the control group, this difference wasn’t statistically significant ( ). This is while the average scores for the control group didn’t vary much over time. The changes in the experimental group were non-linear ( ), while the changes in the control group were linear ( ) (Table 3 and Figure 2).
Table 3 Comparing the Changes in Adjusted Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores for Interpersonal Communication Skills in the Experimental and Control Groups during the Study
Figure 2 Comparing the Changes in Adjusted Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores for Interpersonal Communication Skills in the Experimental and Control Groups during the Study
Moreover, when comparing the average scores for interpersonal communication skills before, immediately after, one month after, and three months after the intervention between the experimental and control groups, the results show that before the intervention, the average score for the experimental group was not much different than the average score for the control group. However, after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the average scores ( ). In addition, the trend of changes during the follow-up period was significant ( ) and remained high. The results indicate that immediately after and one month after the intervention, there is a significant difference between the two groups with regards to the scores for the interpersonal communication skills ( ). However, when measuring three months after the intervention, while the scores for communication skills in the experimental group were higher than those for the control group, this difference wasn’t statistically significant ( ). This is while the average scores for the control group didn’t vary much over time. The changes in the experimental group were non-linear ( ), while the changes in the control group were linear ( ) (Table 4 and Figure 3).
Table 4 Comparing the Changes in Adjusted Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores for Weiss and Marmar’s Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R) in the Experimental and Control Groups during the Study
Figure 3 Comparing the Changes in Adjusted Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores for Weiss and Marmar’s Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R) in the Experimental and Control Groups during the Study