15:35-17:15 | Room 704 Saturday Onsite Presentation Session 4

Mental Health

Session Chair: Andy Hau Yan Ho

15:35-16:00

68927 | A Five Arm Randomized Control Trial for an Intergenerational Arts and Heritage-Based Intervention: ARTISAN 2.0

Stephanie Hilary Xinyi Ma, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Andy Hau Yan Ho, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Background: ARTISAN 2.0 builds on the empirical foundation of Project ARTISAN (Aspiration and Resilience Through Intergenerational Storytelling and Art-based Narratives), a 5-week multi-modal art-based intergenerational intervention developed in 2018, to investigate the intervention components contribution in promoting wellbeing among the young and old. Methods: A parallel group, multicenter, randomized controlled trial (RCT) with four treatment groups and one control group was conducted. 233 youth and older adults were recruited and randomized into five conditions: ARTISAN, participatory arts, art space, storytelling, and physical activity (control). Participants were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 10-week follow-up with multiple psychometric measures. Focus group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed. Results: One-way repeated measures ANOVA were conducted for each condition, and post-hoc independent t-tests were conducted for scales with significant findings. The quantitative findings revealed that engagement in the conditions yielded varying benefits for participants. Engagement in ARTISAN resulted in enhanced civic participation, participatory arts engagement strengthened multiple aspects of psychological wellbeing, attending tours at an art space encouraged appreciation for Singapore’s heritage, sharing life stories enhanced one’s purpose in life, and participation in physical activity improved quality of life. A framework analysis was adopted for the qualitative data, resulting in the identification of 12 themes nested into five interrelated theme categories. This provided deeper insight to the underlying health-promoting contributions of the ARTISAN intervention components and revealed that the multi-modal ARTISAN intervention outperformed singular-modality interventions and could promote selfactualization. Conclusion: This study adds to the limited literature on how integrative modalities can support community wellbeing.

16:00-16:25

69088 | An Online Contextual Schema Therapy Workshop for Social Anxiety Symptoms – A Randomized Control Trial

Simona Stefan, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania

Paula Stroian, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania

Liviu Fodor, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania

Silviu Matu, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania

Diana Nechita, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania

Given the high prevalence of social anxiety, developing accessible psychological interventions for this condition becomes a priority. Self-criticism and experiential avoidance have been established as two transdiagnostic mechanisms involved in social anxiety. Contextual Schema Therapy (CST; Roediger, Stevens, & Brockman, 2018) is a novel psychological treatment addressing these two mechanisms by conceptualizing them as two distinct patterns of schema activation (modes). We therefore aimed to test the efficacy of a brief (single session) CST intervention, delivered in an online group format, for individuals with social anxiety symptoms. We also examined experiential avoidance as a potential mechanism of change. 112 participants with social anxiety symptoms above cut-off were randomized to either the CST group intervention or a waitlist control group. The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale –Second Version (BFNE-II) and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire – Second Version (AAQ-2) were filled in by participants at baseline, immediately after the intervention and at a two-week follow-up. The CST intervention comprised psychoeducation, a conceptualization of social anxiety in schema and mode terms, reflection exercises, chairwork and imagery techniques. At follow-up, significant reductions in fear of negative evaluation and experiential avoidance were found in the CST group. Experiential avoidance was a marginally significant mediator of the changes in fear of negative evaluation from pretest to follow-up. The results support the potential large-scale usefulness of brief online CST interventions with socially anxious individuals.

16:25-16:50

69009 | Outpatient Utilization in Patients With First Diagnosis of Dementia Co-Morbid With Depression: A Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan

Chih-Ching Liu, Asia University, Taiwan

Chien-Hui Liu, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taiwan

Backgrounds: The association of dementia co-morbid with depression with the patterns of outpatient utilization is still lacking. This study was conducted to compare the number of outpatient visits between dementia patients with and without depression. Methods: In this nationwide cohort study, outpatient utilizations of dementia patients with and without depression were tracked for a 1-year period after first diagnosed dementia. The information was acquired from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database entries between 2005 and 2016. The number outpatient visits were analyzed by logtransformed because their distribution of outpatient visits was skewed to right. The association of dementia comorbid with depression with log-transformed outpatient visits were accessed by multivariable linear regression models. Results: The mean (standard deviation) numbers of psychiatric outpatient visit per patient year of dementia with and without depression were 7.30 (8.54) and 3.15 (8.76), respectively, with a difference in log average numbers of psychiatric outpatient visit of 0.74 (95%CI 0.68 ~ 0.80). However, the mean (standard deviation) numbers of psychiatric outpatient visit per patient year of dementia with depression (51.69 [36.21]) were significantly lower than that in dementia patients without depression (57.12 [60.99]), with a difference in log average outpatient visit of -0.11 (95%CI -0.16 ~ -0.07). Conclusion: Dementia with depression had more psychiatric outpatient care but less outpatient care, which may imply that the abnormal non-psychiatric symptoms or signs in dementia patients with depression may delay seeking for an outpatient care and their health-care service or design may be needed to improvement.

16:50-17:15

69079 | Mindful Compassion Art-Based Therapy for Dementia Care (MCAT-DC): Findings from a Waitlist Randomized Control Trial

Andy Hau Yan Ho, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Geraldine Tan-Ho, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Ping Ying Choo, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Building on the empirical foundation of Mindful-Compassion Art Therapy for healthcare workers, Mindful-Compassion Art-based Therapy for Dementia Care (MCAT-DC) is developed to foster self-compassion and resilience among dementia family caregivers. Specifically, MCAT-DC is a multicomponent, group-based psycho-socio-spiritual intervention that integrates mindfulness meditation, creative expression, and reflective awareness in four weekly 2.5-hour standardized sessions. This study adopted a waitlist randomized controlled trial design to test the effectiveness of MCAT-DC, involving 89 dementia caregivers who completed baseline and follow-up assessments. Between-group analysis using Mann-Whitney U test revealed significant reduction in perceived stress, assessed using Perceived Stress Scale, among caregivers in the immediate treatment group (mean rank=38.87) as compared to those in the waitlist control group (mean rank=51.72) after completing MCAT-DC (U=714.0, z=-2.29, p=.022). Friedman test with follow-up Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was conducted to examine the efficacy of MCAT-DC across time (i.e., baseline [T1], post-intervention [T2], three-month [T3], and six-month follow-up [T4]). Statistical findings showed significant decrease in caregiving burden at T2 (z=-2.24, p=.025, r=.168) with maintenance effect at T3 (z=-3.32, p<.001, r=.248) and T4 (z=1.97, p=.049, r=.147), as assessed using Zarit Burden Interview. Significant reduction in depressive symptoms, assessed using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, was observed among caregivers at T2 (z=-2.64, p=.008, r=.198). Caregivers also experienced significant increase in sense of peace, assessed using Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy – Spiritual Wellbeing, at T2 (z=2.43, p=.015, r=.182). These findings reflect MCAT-DC’s efficacy in safeguarding dementia caregivers’ wellbeing and promoting healthy, sustainable caregiving. Experiential narratives of caregivers will be discussed.