207. Design and effectiveness verification of elderly social human-computer interaction system based on positive psychology

Abstract Background In clinical practice of psychiatry, elderly individuals often experience significant psychological stress due to social isolation, and in severe cases, it can also trigger delayed onset mental disorders. Previous studies have mainly improved symptoms through medication and cognitive interventions, but research on enhancing positive emotional and social functioning in the elderly has shown that a single medical approach is difficult to fully repair patients’ sense of social connection. Previous research has shown that the lack of social interaction significantly accelerates cognitive decline and exacerbates depressive mood. Based on this, the study introduces positive psychology theory into the field of psychotherapy and designs a social human-computer interaction system to provide a low-risk digital intervention approach for elderly mental rehabilitation. This achievement has important clinical significance for alleviating loneliness in the elderly population and constructing integrated rehabilitation programs. Methods The study selected 80 elderly patients with mild depression or social withdrawal who met the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Divide all subjects into a control group and an experimental group, with 40 people in each group. The control group received routine mental care and health education, while the experimental group introduced a social human-computer interaction system based on positive psychology for intervention. The expected duration is 16 weeks, with 3 sessions per week and each session lasting 1 hour. The system design includes modules such as advantage check-in, positive storytelling, and virtual social communities, mainly guiding patients to reshape their social motivation through positive feedback. The study used multidimensional scales for pre-test and post test evaluation, including Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15), and Social Disability Screening Schedule (SDSS), to verify the actual effectiveness of the interactive system in psychotherapy. Results Analysis shows that the GDS-15 score of the experimental group decreased from 10.42 points to 5.15 points, significantly better than the control group (p