The Effect of Clay Based Group Study on the Loneliness and Hopelesness Levels in Elderly Living Alone: Randomized Controlled Study

One of the most important social changes today is the aging of the world's population. Along with the increasing elderly population, there is a serious increase in the number of elderly living alone. Many problems such as living alone, despair, insecurity, fear, depression, future anxiety, and close relationship longing are seen in the elderly who constitute the risk group in terms of mental health. The communication, social life and support opportunities of the elderly living alone with other people, their environment, relatives, and society are decreasing. Today, loneliness is one of the most commonly experienced psychological symptoms among the elderly. It has been reported that the feeling of loneliness is 80.0% in individuals aged 65 and over, and the age when this feeling is most common is 70 and above. Another of the most common emotions in the elderly is hopelessness. It is recommended to use art therapy, which is a supportive method suitable for a biopsychosocial approach in coping with loneliness and hopelessness. The art type, technique, and materials to be used in art therapy should be compatible with the age, ability, mental and physical development of the person to be applied. It is a substance that can be manipulated and deformed many times due to its clay structure. The person doing the clay works without fear of damaging the object due to the plastic and durable structure of the clay. Due to its advantage of being able to do it comfortably, it is a suitable art form for elderly individuals who are in the period of neurocognitive decline. Under this scope, this study will evaluate the effect of clay-based group study on the loneliness and hopelessness levels in elderly living alone.