Aging & Social Change: Fourteenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

This quantitative research study aimed to assess the impact of art therapy interventions based on the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) on older adults with dementia in a complex-care residential center. The study involved 26 participants with varying stages of dementia, randomly assigned to receive either 10 sessions of Art Therapy Interventions (ATI) or 10 Art Sessions (AS). Cognitive functioning and quality of life were evaluated using measures such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clock Drawing Test (CDT), and the Older People’s Quality of Life-Brief (OPQOL-Brief) questionnaire. The data analysis revealed statistically significant results for the first three hypotheses. The initial assessment showed that the participants had similar visual expressions and preferences for artistic media, indicating comparable entry levels for the interventions. The ATI and AS groups were expected to demonstrate improvements in cognitive functioning and quality of life. The ATI group exhibited significant enhancements in OPQOL scores, while the ATI group experienced a significant decrease in MMSE-Language scores. However, no significant changes were observed in other measures or between the control group’s pre- and post-assessments. Overall, the findings suggest that 10 sessions of art therapy interventions based on the ETC framework can effectively enhance cognitive functioning, particularly in the language domain, and contribute to an improved quality of life for older adults with dementia. This study adds to the existing research on the benefits of art therapy interventions for this population, supporting the use of ETC-based art therapy as a viable approach to promote cognitive functioning and well-being.