CLINICAL TRIAL article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Psychology of Aging
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1669119
A Randomized Controlled Trial Study of a Life Review Art Intervention for Older Adults Living Alone
Provisionally accepted
- 1National Taiwan University Hospital Yun Lin Branch, Douliu, Taiwan
- 2National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliu, Taiwan
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Background: Older adults living alone face high risks of depression and functional decline; culturally adapted, non-pharmacological options are needed. Objective: To test whether a 12-week Life Review Art Therapy (LRAT) program improves psychological well-being and adaptive functioning in older adults living alone (OALA). Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 22 participants (experimental n=11; control n=11). Primary outcomes were depressive symptoms, measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and adaptive behavior, measured by the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II (ABAS-II). Results: Compared with the control group, the experimental group demonstrated significant reductions in depressive symptoms (GDS-15 post-test mean difference = −9.45; BDI-II post-test mean difference = −15.82) and the General Adaptive Composite (GAC) of adaptive behavior significantly increased (post-test mean difference = 10.64). Significant improvements were observed in the Conceptual and Social domains, while no significant changes were found in the Practical domain. At the skill level, the experimental group demonstrated significant gains in Communication, Self-Direction, Social, and Community Use (p < .05), whereas the control group exhibited declines across multiple skills. Conclusions: LRAT effectively enhanced both emotional well-being and daily functioning in OALA, supporting its potential as a community-based, non-pharmacological intervention.
Keywords: older adults living, Mental Health, Trauma, life review, Art Therapy, Depression, Adaptive Behavior
Received: 18 Jul 2025; Accepted: 08 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 TSAI, Chou and Liao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Pei Ching TSAI, tsai.peiching.ching@gmail.com
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