Emotional intelligence (EI) is a strong predictor of negative mood. Applying emotional skills correctly can help to increase positive emotional states and reduce negative ones. This study aims to implement EI intervention designed to improve clarity, repair EI dimensions and coping strategies, and reduce negative mood in older adults.

Participants were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group.

Participants were evaluated individually before and after the intervention.

Participants included 111 healthy older adults; 51 in the treatment group and 60 in the control group.

An EI program was implemented. The program was administered over 10 sessions lasting 90 min each.

EI dimension (attention, clarity, and repair), coping strategies, hopelessness, and mood were assessed.

Analysis of variance for repeated measures was applied. In the treatment group, scores on clarity and emotional repair increased and attention to emotions decreased; problem-focused coping (problem-solving, positive reappraisal, and seeking social support) showed significant increases, whereas emotion-focused coping (negative self-focused and overt emotional expression) obtained significant decreases; scores on negative mood measures declined significantly.

An intervention based on EI is effective in older adults. After the EI intervention, the participants showed significant increases in their levels of clarity and emotional repair and intermediate levels of attention. In addition, the intervention was found to influence adaptation results, increasing the use of adaptive coping strategies and decreasing the use of maladaptive strategies, as well as reducing hopelessness and depressive symptoms.

Reminiscence promotes the acceptance of oneself and others, a sense of meaning, and the integration of the present and the past. The currently accepted classification contains eight reminiscence functions grouped in three broader functions: self-positive functions (identity, problem-solving, and death preparation); self-negative functions (bitterness revival, boredom reduction, and intimacy maintenance); and prosocial functions (conversation and teach-inform). The main objective of this study was to investigate how the eight dimensions change over time in a sample of healthy older adults after an intervention based on simple reminiscence and subsequent follow-up.

Participants were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group.

Participants were evaluated individually before, immediately after, and 3 months after the intervention.

Participants included 139 healthy older adults (71 intervention group and 68 control group).

Ten weekly sessions lasting 2 hours each were administered, based on a simple reminiscence program.

Participants were assessed with the Reminiscence Functions Scale.

After the intervention, in the treatment group, there was a significant increase in the self-positive functions of problem-solving and death preparation, and these effects were maintained even at the follow-up; there was a significant reduction in the self-negative functions of bitterness revival and intimacy maintenance; and there was a significant increase in the prosocial function of conversation.

When applying an intervention based on reminiscence, it is important to evaluate how it influences these functions because this information can help us to modify the objectives of the intervention and increase its effectiveness.