The purpose of this study is to find out the effects of personal characteristics and metamemory on the older adults' memory performances and the effects of some factors on metamemory. The subjects of the study consisted of 102 old adults over the age of 60 who are living in Kangwon Province. Based on contextual perspectives of the memory-aging theory and the previous foreign researches on memory, some data were collected by means of the interview method, using questionnaires for metamemory(MIA questionnaire by Dixon, et al., 1988), and depression(GDS by Yesavage and Sheikl, 1986). The other data were collected by the testing method on the memory performance such as the immeadiate word recall task, the delayed word recall task, the word recognition task(Elderly Verbal Learning Test by Kyung Mi Choi, 1998),and the face recognition task(Face Recognition Task tool developed by this study). The results of this study were as follows; 1. The level of metamemory is 3.4 points in the 5 point scale, the grades of the task and the achievement are relatively high and the grades of the change, the control, and the strategy are relatively low in the sub-concepts. 2. The significant variables to predict old adults' metamemory are depression level, age, sex, educational attainment and religious activity. 3. The strong variables to predict memory performances are memory knowledge, memory self-efficacy, age, religious activity. 4. The strategy, the achievement, the locus, and the change concept of the metamemory have high correlations with the immediate recall task, the delayed recall task, and the word recognition task. In conclusion, the enhancement strategies of metamemory and the support of social activities are independent fields for nursing intervention. Ultimately in this respect nurses' roles are very important in developing and performing some intervention programs for old adults' memory improvement, which have significant meanings in the field of nursing science.
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