Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Late-Life Depression: a Randomised Controlled Trial
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Rumination and overgeneral autobiographical memory are dysfunctional cognitions commonly found in older adults with depression. The theoretical underpinnings of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) address the ruminative tendencies and the non-specific retrieval of autobiographical memories. This study aims to examine the efficacy and cognitive mechanisms of MBCT in older adults with active depressive symptoms. METHODS: 57 older adults (mean age, 70 years) with normal cognition and mild to moderate depressive symptoms were randomly allocated to either the MBCT group or the active control group for 8 weeks. The MBCT group consisted of eight 2-hour weekly sessions and a 7-hour full-day retreat, with different themes for each class, guided mindfulness exercises, feedback and discussion, homework review, and psychoeducation. The active control group comprised a 1-hour physical exercise and a standardised health education of the specific theme with group discussion (eg fall prevention, chronic pain). Participants were assessed before and after the 8-week intervention for four outcome measures: the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), the Autobiographical Memory Test (AMT), and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). RESULTS: = 0.24), but only the MBCT group showed substantial improvements in autobiographical memory specificity (AMT score), rumination (RRS score), and mindfulness (MAAS score). CONCLUSION: Although both MBCT and active control programme decrease the severity of depressive symptoms in older adults, only MBCT improves AMS, rumination, and mindfulness. Our findings provide empirical support for the theoretical underpinnings of MBCT. Older adults with more severe depression and more severe dysfunctional cognition may benefit more from the specific therapeutic effects of MBCT.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
A minimum of 84 participants is needed to detect a small-to-medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.40/f = 0.20) with 80% power and 5% significance for three arms over three timepoints.
“Based on previous literature on the effectiveness of MBIs [54, 55], assuming a small-to-medium effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.40/f = 0.20), 80% power, and 5% significance level, a minimum of 84 participants is needed to elicit changes for three arms over three timepoints.”
From Effectiveness of an age-modified mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in improving mental health in older people with depressive symptoms: a non-randomised controlled trial. (2025) · cites this paper as [54]
The Methods section (page not provided) describes a two-arm, two-timepoint design and calculates a required sample of 54 participants, not 84, at 80% power and 5% significance. It does not use the claimed Cohen’s d = 0.40/f = 0.20 assumption. (LLM, conf=0.89)
Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Hamilton, M. (1960) · Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.23.1.56 · Cited by 32,817 · see citing works
The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822 · Cited by 13,448 · see citing works
Sterne, J. A. C., White, I. R., Carlin, J. B., Spratt, M., Royston, P., Kenward, M. G., Wood, A. M., & Carpenter, J. R. (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b2393 · Cited by 7,299 · see citing works
Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition.
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., Segal, Z. V., Abbey, S., Speca, M., Velting, D., et al. (2004) · Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice · doi:10.1093/clipsy.bph077 · Cited by 7,234 · see citing works
The construction of autobiographical memories in the self-memory system
Conway, M. A., & Pleydell-Pearce, C. W. (2000) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.107.2.261 · Cited by 4,089 · see citing works
(2001) · Cited by 3,666 · see citing works
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Morrow, J. (1991) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.61.1.115 · Cited by 3,276 · see citing works
The role of rumination in depressive disorders and mixed anxiety/depressive symptoms.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2000) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037//0021-843x.109.3.504 · Cited by 2,998 · see citing works
Autobiographical memory specificity and emotional disorder.
Williams, J. M. G., Barnhofer, T., Crane, C., Herman, D., Raes, F., Watkins, E., & Dalgleish, T. (2007) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.122 · Cited by 1,688 · see citing works
Aging and autobiographical memory: dissociating episodic from semantic retrieval
Levine, B., Svoboda, E., Hay, J. F., Winocur, G., & Moscovitch, M. (2002) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/0882-7974.17.4.677 · Cited by 1,521 · see citing works
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression: A New Approach to Preventing Relapse
Hodo, D. W. (2002) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.7.1257 · Cited by 1,405 · see citing works
Autobiographical memory in suicide attempters.
Williams, J. M., & Broadbent, K. (1986) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.95.2.144 · Cited by 1,330 · see citing works
Koster, E. H. W., De Lissnyder, E., Derakshan, N., & De Raedt, R. (2011) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.08.005 · Cited by 916 · see citing works
Piet, J., & Hougaard, E. (2011) · Clinical Psychology Review · doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.05.002 · Cited by 807 · see citing works
Williams, J. M. G., Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., & Soulsby, J. (2000) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.109.1.150 · Cited by 516 · see citing works
Williams, J. M., Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., & Soulsby, J. M. (2000) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037//0021-843x.109.1.150 · Cited by 512 · see citing works
Validity and Reliability of the Chinese Hamilton Depression Rating Scale
Zheng, Y., Zhao, J., Phillips, M., Liu, J., Cai, M., Sun, S., & Huang, M. (1988) · British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.152.5.660 · Cited by 423 · see citing works
Autobiographical Memory in Depression: State or Trait Marker?
Brittlebank, A. D., Scott, J. L., Mark, J., Williams, G., & Ferrier, I. N. (1993) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.162.1.118 · Cited by 420 · see citing works
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression: A preliminary study
Barnhofer, T., Crane, C., Hargus, E., Amarasinghe, M., Winder, R., & Williams, J. M. G. (2009) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.01.019 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
Executive Dysfunction in Geriatric Depression
Lockwood, K. A., Alexopoulos, G. S., & van Gorp, W. G. (2002) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.7.1119 · Cited by 378 · see citing works
Age effects on the neural correlates of successful memory encoding
Morcom, A. M., Good, C. D., Frackowiak, R. S. J., & Rugg, M. D. (2002) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awg020 · Cited by 360 · see citing works
Mindfulness-based stress reduction and attentional control
Anderson, N. D., Lau, M. A., Segal, Z. V., & Bishop, S. R. (2007) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.544 · Cited by 326 · see citing works
Wong, A., Xiong, Y., Kwan, P. W.-L., Chan, A. Y. Y., Lam, W. W. M., Wang, K., Chu, C. W., Nyenhuis, D. L., Nasreddine, Z. S., Wong, K. S., et al. (2009) · Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders · doi:10.1159/000232589 · Cited by 316 · see citing works
The effects of mindfulness on executive processes and autobiographical memory specificity
Heeren, A., Van Broeck, N., & Philippot, P. (2009) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2009.01.017 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Williams, J. M. G. (2006) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699930500450465 · Cited by 282 · see citing works
van Vreeswijk, M. F., & de Wilde, E. J. (2004) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(03)00194-3 · Cited by 280 · see citing works
Tedeschini, E., Levkovitz, Y., Iovieno, N., Ameral, V. E., Nelson, J. C., & Papakostas, G. I. (2011) · The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · doi:10.4088/jcp.10r06531 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Translation of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)
Deng, Y.-Q., Li, S., Tang, Y.-Y., Zhu, L.-H., Ryan, R., & Brown, K. (2012) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-011-0074-1 · Cited by 266 · see citing works
Rumination as a predictor of relapse in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression
Michalak, J., Hölz, A., & Teismann, T. (2011) · Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice · doi:10.1348/147608310x520166 · Cited by 188 · see citing works
Eisendrath, S. J., Gillung, E., Delucchi, K. L., Segal, Z. V., Nelson, J. C., McInnes, L. A., Mathalon, D. H., & Feldman, M. D. (2016) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000442260 · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Shahar, B., Britton, W. B., Sbarra, D. A., Figueredo, A. J., & Bootzin, R. R. (2010) · International Journal of Cognitive Therapy · doi:10.1521/ijct.2010.3.4.402 · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Prevalence of late-life depression and gap in mental health service use across European regions
Horáčková, K., Kopeček, M., Machů, V., Kågström, A., Aarsland, D., Motlová, L. B., & Čermáková, P. (2019) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.12.002 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Perestelo-Perez, L., Barraca, J., Peñate, W., Rivero-Santana, A., & Alvarez-Perez, Y. (2017) · International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.07.004 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
Zhang, J.-X., Liu, X.-H., Xie, X.-H., Zhao, D., Shan, M.-S., Zhang, X.-L., Kong, X.-M., & Cui, H. (2015) · EXPLORE · doi:10.1016/j.explore.2015.02.005 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
de Maat, S. C. M., Dekker, J., Schoevers, R. A., & de Jonghe, F. E. R. E. R. (2006) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503300600756402 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Do improvements in emotional distress correlate with becoming more mindful? A study of older adults.
Splevins, K., Smith, A., & Simpson, J. (2009) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607860802459807 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Working Memory Capacity and Overgeneral Autobiographical Memory in Young and Older Adults
Ros, L., Latorre, J. M., & Serrano, J. P. (2009) · Aging Neuropsychology and Cognition · doi:10.1080/13825580903042650 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
Chiesa, A., Castagner, V., Andrisano, C., Serretti, A., Mandelli, L., Porcelli, S., & Giommi, F. (2015) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2015.02.003 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
O’Connor, M., Piet, J., & Hougaard, E. (2013) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-013-0194-x · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Thomsen, D. K., Mehlsen, M. Y., Olesen, F., Hokland, M., Viidik, A., Avlund, K., & Zachariae, R. H. (2004) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1023/b:jobm.0000028496.41492.34 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Executive Function Deficits, Rumination and Late-Onset Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults
von Hippel, W., Vasey, M. W., Gonda, T., & Stern, T. (2006) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-006-9034-9 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Age differences in rumination and autobiographical retrieval
Ricarte, J. J., Ros, L., Serrano, J. P., Martínez-Lorca, M., & Latorre, J. M. (2015) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2015.1060944 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Torres-Platas, S. G., Escobar, S., Belliveau, C., Wu, J., Sasi, N., Fotso, J., Potes, A., Thomas, Z., Goodman, A., Looper, K., et al. (2019) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000501214 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Hitchcock, C., Hammond, E. R., Rees, C., Panesar, I., Watson, P., Werner‐Seidler, A., & Dalgleish, T. (2015) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-015-1029-y · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Erber, R., Wegner, D. M., & Wyer, R. S. (1996) · Cited by 20 · see citing works
(2015) · 臺灣精神醫學 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Rumination in Geriatric Depression
Moorleghem, K. V., & Conniff, K. D. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-287-082-7_255 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Craik FI, Simon E. Age differences in memory: the roles of attention and depth of processing in new directions in memory and aging. Talland Memorial Conference 1980:95-112.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Mao, L., Li, P., Wu, Y., Luo, L., & Hu, M. (2023) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2022.10.022 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Li, P., Mao, L., Hu, M., Lu, Z., Yuan, X., Zhang, Y., & Hu, Z. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph192316101 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Ji, M., Sun, Y., Zhou, J., Li, X., Wei, H., & Wang, Z. (2022) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2022.11.089 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Nandarathana, N., & Ranjan, J. K. (2024) · Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1177/02537176241249375 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Liu, J., Duan, W., Xiao, Z., & Wu, Y. (2024) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.01.223 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Wei, S., Qin, W., Yu, Z., Cao, Y., & Li, P. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-03348-x · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Waisman, A. S., & Katz, J. D. (2024) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105736 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Morgado, B., Silva, C., Agostinho, I. M. O., Brás, F., Amaro, P., Lusquinhos, L., Silva, M. R., da Fonseca, C. J. V., Albacar-Riobóo, N., & de Pinho, L. G. (2024) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare12242551 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
The clinical perspective on late-onset depression in European real-world treatment settings
Bartova, L., Fugger, G., Dold, M., Kautzky, A., Bairhuber, I., Kloimstein, P., Fanelli, G., Zanardi, R., Weidenauer, A., Rujescu, D., et al. (2024) · European Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2024.03.007 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Wang, Y.-H., Wang, Y.-L., Leung, D. K. Y., Ng, Z. L. Y., Chan, O. L. H., Wong, S. M. Y., Chan, R. C. L., Liu, T., Wong, G. H. Y., & Lum, T. Y. S. (2025) · BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies · doi:10.1186/s12906-025-04781-6 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Based on previous literature on the effectiveness of MBIs [54, 55], assuming a small-to-medium effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.40/ f = 0.20), 80% power, and 5% significance level, a minimum of 84 participants is needed to elicit changes for three arms over three timepoints.”
InfluentialHerschel, E., Hennessy, S., Cahn, B. R., Goldsworthy, R. L., & Habibi, A. (2022) · Music & Science · doi:10.1177/20592043221140524 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Uma análise da depressão em idosos
Vallim, Y. V., Portela, M. V. M., & Júnior, H. S. D. F. (2023) · Revista Eletrônica Acervo Saúde · doi:10.25248/reas.e13031.2023 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Ma, H., Zhao, M., Yin, H., Zhao, S., & Wei, P. (2025) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1155/da/3984020 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Qin, P., Li, F., Li, X., & Feng, X. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1772542 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Yang, K., Bai, J., Aliswag, E. G., et al. (2024) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-024-05437-9 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Kan, R. L. D., Mak, A. D. P., Chan, S. K. W., Zhang, B. B. B., Fong, T. K. H., & Kranz, G. S. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053896 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Kalita, M., & Żylicz, Z. (2023) · Palliative Medicine in Practice · doi:10.5603/pmpi.a2023.0026 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Brody, L. A., Fife, B. S., Otoo, S.-N., & Renn, B. N. (2026) · Clinical Gerontologist · doi:10.1080/07317115.2026.2661906 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Wungvivatchareon, N., & Anuroj, K. (2025) · East Asian Archives of Psychiatry · doi:10.12809/eaap2557 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Kelly, L. (2023) · Palgrave studies in workplace spirituality and fulfillment · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-34677-4_11
Mansor, M., Chong, M.-C., Lei, C., Hamdan, M., Roslim, N. A., & Isa, R. M. (2026) · Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology · doi:10.1080/02646838.2026.2622923 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ding, J., Ali, M. Z., Ibrahim, A. M., Atta, M. H. R., Khasawneh, M. A. S., & Ibrahim, F. M. (2026) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2026.102105
Silva, C., Alves, E., Schneider, B. C., Sampaio, F., Morgado, B., Santos, B. M., Correia, T., Coelho, J. C. F., Tomaz, M. L., Ferreira, R., et al. (2026) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-026-10767-6
- Authors
- Shih, V. W., Chan, W.-C., Tai, O.-K., Wong, H.-L., Cheng, C. P., & Wong, C. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Department of Psychiatry, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
- Venue
- East Asian Archives of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Press
- Published
- 2021-06-07
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 27-35
- ISSN
- 2078-9947 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3173605364
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5
- FWCI
- 2.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- East Asian Archives of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, geriatric depression, older adults, rumination, autobiographical memory specificity, overgeneral autobiographical memory, mindfulness, depressive symptoms, cognitive mechanisms
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Depression, Humans, Psychotherapy, Group, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Treatment Outcome, Mindfulness
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
