The Effect of Art Therapy on Cognitive Performance of Hispanic/Latino Older Adults

Abstract

This article presents the results of a pilot study investigating the efficacy of art therapy to enhance cognitive performance in a sample of 24 elderly Hispanic/Latino members of a community center who participated in a weekly structured thematic therapeutic arts program. A 12-week, quasiexperimental, pretest/posttest, nonrandomized, controlled design evaluated outcomes using the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). Participants who attended the art therapy sessions outperformed those who did not on both cognitive evaluation tests. The findings suggest that the combination of self-initiated art making with art therapy session attendance may be most beneficial for enhancing a person's perception of cognitive ability, which in turn may positively affect overall cognitive performance.