The development and implementation of the Art of Happiness intervention for community-dwelling older adults

Research has shown that positive psychology interventions can enhance subjective well-being and reduce depression, however, efficacy on older adult populations has not been widely examined. Specifically, subjective well-being, life satisfaction, optimism, and positive emotions have been shown to improve health and longevity. The present study soughts to develop and evaluate an intervention with the goals of enhancing positive mental health among older adults. The Art of Happiness is a theory-based, eight-week intervention that was conducted at three senior centers in the state of Delaware. Each 90-min class examined a different topic including: (1) defining happiness, (2) stress management, (3) reflecting on happiness, (4) compassion and human connection, (5) forgiveness, (6) transforming suffering, (7) mindfulness, and (8) humor. Pre and post questionnaires assessed participant subjective happiness, stress, gratitude, life satisfaction, depression, mindfulness, arousal states, and general demographic and health information. This paper outlines the formative and process evaluation methodology related to the Art of Happiness project.