The Effects of Art Therapy Followed by Narrative Therapy on Stress-Related Behaviors in Children from 3rd to 5th Grade

Project ID:

HS-BIOS-144

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All photos and graphics unless otherwise cited created by the student researcher

Background and Existing Research

• 1 in 6 youth ages 2-8 in the US have been diagnosed with a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder (Cree, et al., 2018)

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• Early detection and prevention can significantly reduce psychological problems that 10-20% of children are suffering from worldwide (Cho & Shin, 2013)

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• Recent research shows that art therapy positively affects children with trauma, disabilities, or other medical conditions (Hu, et al., 2021)

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• Narrative therapy reduces depressive moods in children, and children can understand their own experiences while retelling their story (Kountouras & Peraki, 2022)

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Scientific Questions

1. Does art therapy followed by narrative therapy reduce stress-related behaviors of nervousness, worry, fear, being pressured, uneasiness, not moving at a comfortable pace, and does it improve fast heart rate in children from 3rd to 5th grade?

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• Does art therapy followed by narrative therapy improve enjoyment for drawing in children from 3rd to 5th grade?

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• Does art therapy followed by narrative therapy improve enjoyment for storytelling in children from 3rd to 5th grade?

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Methods

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• A total of thirty 3rd to 5th graders participated in three study sessions.

Figure 1. Participants by gender

Figure 2. Participants by grade

Study Design

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Participants

Drawing

Pre-Test

Storytelling

Post-Test

Complete 3-question survey (scale 1- 7)

- Q1: stress-related mental behaviors

- Q2: enjoyment for drawing

- Q3: enjoyment for storytelling

Complete 3-question survey (scale 1-7)

the same questions as those of Pre-Test

1-2 minutes for each participant

30 minutes, on letter-size paper with colored pencils

Statistical Method and Results

• Student’s t-test: paired, one-tailed t-test

- significance level: P < 0.05

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Table 1. Results (Mean±SD) of Pre-Test, Post-Test, and difference between Pre-Test and Post -Test (Student’s t-test) of Questions 1 (stress-related behaviors), Question 2 (enjoyment for drawing), and Question 3 (enjoyment for storytelling) after art therapy followed by narrative therapy in thirty 3rd to 5th graders

Data Analysis

Figure 3. Results (Mean±SD) of Pre-Test and Post-Test, and difference between Pre-Test and Post-Test (Student’s t-test) of Questions 1 (stress-related behaviors), Question 2 (enjoyment for drawing), and Question 3 (enjoyment for storytelling) after art therapy followed by narrative therapy in thirty 3rd to 5th graders. *p=0.03928, **p= 0.01969

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Data Interpretations

• Results show that art therapy followed by narrative therapy did not improve stress-related behaviors (Question 1, p=0.16579)

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• Results show that art therapy followed by narrative therapy did improve enjoyment for drawing (Question 2, p=0.03928)

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• Results show that art therapy followed by narrative therapy did improve enjoyment for storytelling (Question 3, p=0.01969)

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Conclusions

• Art therapy followed by narrative therapy significantly improved enjoyment for drawing (p=0.03928) and storytelling (p= 0.01969) in children from 3rd to 5th grade.

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• The study shows promising results and supports further research on the effects of art therapy followed by narrative therapy on stress-related behaviors in children.

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Discussion

If art and narrative therapy are effective in lowering the stress levels of average elementary school students:

• the students’ overall academic performances will improve (Bosgraff, et al., 2020)

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• prevent/reduce other psychological conditions such as anxiety later on in life (Cho & Shin, 2013)

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• may also be effective for different age groups and people with different backgrounds or health conditions (Erbes, et al., 2014)

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Future Study

• Possible ways to better determine the effect of art therapy followed by narrative therapy on stress-related behaviors in children from 3rd to 5th grade include:
• a larger sample size
• assign different drawing topic themes
• holding the study sessions at different times of day
• re-design Question 1 in the survey and evaluate each respective stress-related behavior in separate questions instead of clustering all behaviors into one question.

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References

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Cree, R.A., Bitsko, R.H., Robinson, L.r., Holbrook, J.R., Danielson, M.L, Smith, C., Kaminski, J.W., Kenney, M.K., & Peacock, G. (2018). Health Care, Family, and Community Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders and Poverty Among Children Aged 2–8 Years. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(50), 1377–1383. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6750a1

Cho, S.M., & Shin, Y.M. (2013). The promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental health problems in child and adolescent. Korean Journal of Pediatrics, 56(11), 459-464. https://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2013.56.11.459

Cohen-Yatziv. L., & Regev, D. (2019). The effectiveness and contribution of art therapy work with children in 2018 -what progress has been made so far? A systematic review. 24(3), 100-112. https://doi.org/10.1080/17454832.2019.1574845

Kountouras, G., & Peraki, C. (2022). Narrative Therapy in Childhood Depression. Journal of Liberal Arts and Humanities, 3(1), 24-32. 10.48150/jlah.v3no1.2022.a3.

Frazier, P., Gabriel, A., Merians, A., & Lust, K. (2018). Understanding stress as an impediment to academic performance. Journal of American College Health, 67(6), 562-570. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2018.1499649

Bosgraff, L., Spreen, M., Pattiselanno, K., & van Hooren, S. (2020). Art Therapy for Psychosocial Problems in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Narrative Review on Art Therapeutic Means and Forms of Expression, Therapist Behavior, and Supposed Mechanisms of Change. Front Psychol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.584685

Hu, J., Zhang, J., Hu, L., Yu, H., & Xu, J. (2021). Art Therapy: A Complementary Treatment for Mental Disorders. Front Psychol. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686005

Erbes, E.C., Stillman, R.S., Wieling, E., Bera, W., & Leskela, J. (2014) A Pilot Examination of the Use of Narrative Therapy With Individuals Diagnosed With PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 27(6), 730-733. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21966

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