The old age is characterized by the remarkable aging of both body and mind. This phenomenon decreases the ability to cope with the sources of social and psychological stresses, and causes symptoms such as passiveness, depression, ineffectiveness in pr...
The old age is characterized by the remarkable aging of both body and mind. This phenomenon decreases the ability to cope with the sources of social and psychological stresses, and causes symptoms such as passiveness, depression, ineffectiveness in problem solving and impatience. Especially, the helplessness and depressive affect of old people would become more frequent than in young people. Thus the purpose of this study is to provide old people with the opportunity of self-reflection, motives and energy in order that they can live an emotionally positive life, by attempting to reduce their learned helplessness and depressive affect through the group art therapy program.
Subjects of the study included 40 old people whose learned helplessness was relatively high, among 100 residing in nursing facilities and 100 in their own homes. The subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups, 20 members each. The former was divided into two groups, 10 members each on whom the group art therapy was implemented 2 times a week over 24 sessions. The effects of the program were evaluated using pre-, post- and follow-up examinations. Finally, the qualitative analysis was performed on the program.
Measurement devices used in the study included the examinations of helplessness, depressive affect and Kinetic House-Tree-Person, MANOVA, ANCOVA and Paired t-test were used for statistical processes.
To accomplish the purpose of the study, the following hypotheses were made.
Hypothesis 1. If the group art therapy is applied to old people, their learned helplessness and depressive affect will have a tendency to reduce according to each of the therapy session.
Hypothesis 2-1. Effects of the group art therapy on helplessness of old people show statistically signifiant differences according to the gender of those people.
Hypothesis 2-2. Effects of the group art therapy on helplessness of old people show statistically significant differences according to the residential type of those people.
Hypothesis 3-1. Effects of the group art therapy on depression affect of old people show statistically significant differences according to the gender of those people.
Hypothesis 3-2. Effects of the group art therapy on depression affect of old people show statistically significant differences according to the residential type of those people.
Hypothesis 4. Effects of the group art therapy on the learned helplessness of old people continue.
As a result of testing these hypotheses, 1 and 4 were accepted while 2-1, 2-2, 3-1 and 3-2 were rejected. That is, it was found that the group art therapy is effective in reducing the learned helplessness and depressive affect of old people, and such effects continue for a month. This finding, however, showed no differences according to the gender and residential type of those people.
Consequently, the group art therapy program used in this study has effects on the learned helplessness and depressive affect of old people.