Effectiveness of Spirituality Therapy on the Metacognitive Beliefs and Dysfunctional Attitude in Elderly People of Khorramabad City in 2017

Introduction: Defective metacognitive beliefs and dysfunctional attitude are some of the problems that have been observed in aging. The importance of spiritual therapy training to the elderly has also been considered in recent years; Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of spiritual therapy on metacognitive beliefs and dysfunctional attitude of elderly people in Khorramabad city in 2017. Method: The present study is a quasi-experimental (pre-test - post-test with control group). The statistical population of this research includes all elderly care centers of Khorramabad old people in 2017. The statistical sample was selected by a sampling method in 30 people and randomly assigned to test and control groups (15 individuals for each group). Both groups completed the Wales and Carthage-Haughton metacognitive beliefs (2004) and the dysfunctional attitude scale (1978) questionnaire during the evaluation stages. Eight sessions (one hour a week). Spiritual therapy training was conducted in the experimental group and the control group received customary nursing home programs. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate and univariable covariance analysis using SPSS version 23 software. Results: After spiritual therapy, the mean scores of subscales of metacognitive beliefs and dysfunctional attitudes decreased from pretest to post-test. Also, according to the findings of covariance analysis, spirituality therapy was effective in reducing the defective metacognitive beliefs and dysfunctional attitudes of elderly people (P = 0.001). Conclusion: The application of this therapeutic approach as an effective intervention in reducing defective metacognitive beliefs and dysfunctional attitudes in aging centers is recommended.