Effects of the Therapist's Nonverbal Behavior on Participation and Affect of Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease During Group Music Therapy Sessions

In healthcare settings, medical professionals' nonverbal behavior impacts patients' satisfaction and long-term physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of a music therapist's nonverbal behavior, affect and proximity, on participation and affect of 38 individuals with Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia (ADRD) during movement-to-music, singing, and instrument playing. Data indicated 62% of the individuals evinced positive affect when the therapist utilized affect and proximity combined, followed by the affect only condition (53%), proximity only condition (30%), and no affect or proximity condition (28%). A Friedman analysis indicated a significant difference in individuals' affect according to treatment conditions, chi(2)(r) (3, 4) = 34.05, p = .001. Nonverbal behavior also impacted individuals' accuracy of participation, with participation at 79% for both affect and proximity combined, 75% for affect only, 71% for no affect or proximity, and 70% for proximity only. A significant difference occurred for participation by treatment conditions, F (3, 111) = 4.05, p = .009, eta(2) = .10. Clinical implications are discussed.