Exploring Autobiographical Memory Functions in Korean Older Adults: Development and Application of the Korean Version of Thinking About Life Experiences Scale

ABSTRACT

Objective@#The aim of this study was to develop a Korean version of the Thinking About Life Experiences (TALE-K) scale and to analyze the characteristics of autobiographical memory function (AMF) in community-dwelling older adults. @*Methods@#To develop TALE-K, a translation and back-translation procedure followed by an understanding test was performed. Then, a survey was conducted to examine the associations of AMF with psychosocial variables using TALE-K, Index of Well-Being (IWB), Meaning in Life Scale for older adults, Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, and Brief Resilience Scale. @*Results@#Data from 75 community-dwelling older adults were used for the final analysis. The average scores of all three sub-scales of TALE-K were below 3 points (less frequent than occasionally). The correlation results showed that TALE-K total score was significantly associated with IWB and the Meaning in life scale for older adults. The multiple linear regression results present-ed that higher AMF was significantly associated with higher IWB, along with having siblings, higher meaning in life and resilience,and lower loneliness. @*Conclusion@#Including a validation study of TALE-K, studies for understanding the characteristics of AMF in older adults using TALE-K are needed.