This study was done for the purpose of analyzing the effectiveness of The Solution-focused Art Therapy (SAT) on middle-aged women's attitudes toward middle adulthood developmental changes and their self-reported climacteric symptoms. Following hypothe...
This study was done for the purpose of analyzing the effectiveness of The Solution-focused Art Therapy (SAT) on middle-aged women's attitudes toward middle adulthood developmental changes and their self-reported climacteric symptoms. Following hypothesis have made: 1) SAT would change their negative attitudes toward middle adulthood developmental signs to positive ones. 2) As the attitudes changed by applying SAT, climacteric symptoms would lighten.
Women's attitudes toward climacteric symptoms could be defined as an attitudes including cognitive and emotional (evaluative) factors toward naturally experienced physical and psychological changes during a process of women' growth and development. This study participants were age range from 40 to 59, and the attitudes were indicated by the score of The Attitude assessment developed by Ji, Sung Ai (1983) which measures typical signs such as menopause, a sign of aging, and children's launching.
Climacteric symptoms encompassed physical, psychological, and psychosomatic symptoms in the time preceding, during, and proceeding menopause: a transition period of shifting from the period of being fertile to the period of senescence. The Climacteric Symptoms Scale developed by Neugaten (1965) and revised by Cha, Young Nam (1995) was employed for these.
Art activity has a power that let people solve problems creatively and have a new vision (thought) as allowing them have more flexibility and positive attitude. Especially SAT is a therapeutic process that let them change their view and/or behavior in a trouble as it brings out internal resource and emotions. Accordingly, through applying SAT in this study, middle aged women would get helped to lighten their attitudes to developmental signs and climacteric symptoms.
The study participants were three married women who scored under 45 in attitude scale toward middle adulthood developmental changes, above 30 in climacteric symptom scale, and also under no other treatments. They were taken sessions by twice a week in H counseling center in Ulsan, and total of 15 sessions (2 hrs/session) were taken in individually.
The study data were treated as follow.
First, in order to find out effectiveness of SAT toward attitude changes, 1) they were compared the changes of total scores in pre-post The Attitude Assessment. 2) they were analyzed attitude changes in each sessions. 3) the changes of attitude and/or belief showed in bilateral art procedure were analyzed.
Second, they were compared the changes of total scores in pre-post The Climacteric Symptoms Scale and of scores in each items in order to find out consequence of attitude changes on climacteric symptoms.
The results of this study were as follows;
First, SAT has changed middle-aged women's negative attitudes related middle adulthood development into positive attitudes. Three main climacteric processes such as menopause, a sign of aging, and children's launching has shown significant changes.
Second, the positive changes of attitudes have reduced climacteric symptoms. In other words, as one's attitudes changed positively, climacteric symptoms have lightened significantly.
These study results agree with preceding study that climacteric symptoms are related with women's attitudes. And also it supports an interpretation of preceding researchers that psychotherapy would be needed to middle aged women who complain climacteric symptoms because of relation between climacteric symptoms and psychological factors.
The findings of this study have implications as an efficiency of psychotherapeutic intervention that help women' adjustment to middle adulthood developmental changes, and prevention and relief of climacteric symptoms.