The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the influence of a solution-focused group art therapy program on the mental health(depression, anxiety and hostility), stress-coping skills and self-esteem of institutionalized teenagers. A quantit...
The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the influence of a solution-focused group art therapy program on the mental health(depression, anxiety and hostility), stress-coping skills and self-esteem of institutionalized teenagers. A quantitative and qualitative analysis was made to determine the effectiveness of a solution-focused group art therapy program, in an effort to lay the groundwork for providing better guidance to institutionalized adolescents. The subjects of this study were 44 teenagers who were selected from two different institutions for the youth through the recommendation of their instructors. Out of them, 12 boys and 10 girls were selected from S institution, and 22 boys from H institution.
The data were collected from September through November in 2006. An experimental group attended this solution-focused group art therapy program in seven sessions for a seven-week period of time, once a week, 90 minutes each, and no action was taken to a control group. Both groups took tests in mental health(depression, anxiety and hostility), stress-coping skills and self-esteem before and after the program was conducted, and K-HTP test was carried out as well, which was a projective test.
The collected data were analyzed with SPSS WIN 11.5 program, and paired t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, one-way ANOVA and correlational analysis were employed.
The findings of the study were as follows:
First, when the two groups were compared, the experimental group that participated in the solution-centered group art therapy program showed an statistically significant improvement in mental health. In other words, the depression, anxiety and hostility of that group were eased, and that group made progress in stress-coping skills and self-esteem as well.
However, the control group that didn't take part in the solution- centered group art therapy program underwent no significant change in metal health(depression, anxiety and hostility), stress-coping skills and self-esteem.
Second, as for correlation among their mental health(depression, anxiety and hostility), stress-coping skills and self-esteem, those who felt more anxiety were more depressed, and those who were more hostile suffered stronger depression and anxiety. The adolescents whose self-esteem was better were less depressed and better handled their stress.
Third, as a result of comparing each group's pretest and posttest scores, the experimental group scored significantly lower in depression, anxiety and hostility posttests, and that group scored higher in stress-coping sills and self-esteem posttests. Therefore it's found that the solution-focused group art therapy program had a favorable impact on their mental health(depression, anxiety and hostility), stress-coping skills and self-esteem.
Fourth, their gender, family-meeting frequency and term of institutionalization and the grade of their schools made no statistically significant differences to their mental health(depression, anxiety and hostility), stress-coping skills and self-esteem. But in the case of the teenagers exposed to the solution-centered group art therapy program, those who had been institutionalized for five years or more made a statistically better improvement in self-esteem than the others who had been for less than five years.
Fifth, according to the results of behavioral observation by this researcher and their instructors, of analysis of the art works made by the institutionalized teenagers and of K-HTP pretest and posttest, the adolescents who participated in the solution-focused group art therapy program showed a positive change in mental health(depression, anxiety and hostility), stress-coping skills and self-esteem.
The above findings suggested that the solution-focused group art therapy program exercised a positive influence on lightening the depression, anxiety and hostility of the institutionalized teenagers and on enhancing their stress-coping skills and self-esteem.