Personal and Social Aspects of Reminiscence

We examined associations between personal and so- cial aspects of reminiscence in the past and present, and both oral and silent reminiscence frequency. Participants were 50 community- dwelling older adults who completed self-administered question- naires. Raving currelit opportuniiies to reminisce was sign'ificantly associated with oral and with silent reminiscence: early life exvosure to reminiscing was significantly correlated with totai reminiscence frequency. Data for other aspects of social interaction surrounding reminiscence, types of reminiscence, and gender effects are also dis- cussed. Results suggest that researchers and practitioners should consider features of social interaction before initiating reminiscence research and therapy.