The aim of this study is to investigate how the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program, which consists of Music Play and Food Art Play, influences children's expression of aggression and whether the program has an effect to decrease children's aggress...
The aim of this study is to investigate how the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program, which consists of Music Play and Food Art Play, influences children's expression of aggression and whether the program has an effect to decrease children's aggressive behaviors.
The methods of this study were mainly conducted through selecting goals and themes for each session which may reveal the influences of the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program on the target children's expression of aggression or its decrease. For that purpose, we referred to some results of previous studies and delivered a questionnaire investigation. Futhermore, data collections such as the program log, video tape recording, observation records and researcher's note were used to analyze the changes in artistic and non-artistic reactions expressed by the target children in the Music Play and Food Play category. The analysis shows to some extent the influence of the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program.
The objects of this study were chosen from elementary school children that attended the K regional children's center in Gyeonggido. Totally sixteen children in grade 2,3,4, and 5 were selected, and they were designed to belong to two different groups. Eight were selected as an experimental group and the other eight was designated as the control group. The experimental group participated in a Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program from Feb. 4th, 2010 to March 18th, 2010, which were held twice a week, 70 minutes for each session.
The survey was conducted in the following manner amongst the children in the experimental group and their teachers; a preprogram survey prior to the beginning of the program, a postprogram survey and further survey conducted after the completion of the program. For the comparison analysis, we delivered survey on the control group and their teachers too. For the survey, the following were used as measurement standards; children's general characteristics and aggressiveness, children's aggression measure as reported by the teacher and children's emotional maladjusted behavior measure. Additionally, to find out the satisfaction level which the experimental group children felt concerning the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program, a satisfaction survey was conducted for each sessions as well as for the entire session as a sum.
In order to look into the social demography of the experimental group and the control group, the frequency and the percentage of the collected data were calculated using the Statistic program SPSS Win18.0. Also, to examine multiresponse analysis, reliability of the measurement standards (Cronbach's α) and the expression and decrease of aggression amongst the experimental group and the control group, each pairedt tests were conducted for the following; experimental groupcontrol group, experimental groupexperimental group, control groupcontrol group, prepost, prefurther, postfurther.
The following is the summary of the main results of this study
First, both post and further tests revealed that children between the experimental group who participated in the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program and the control group showed statistically meaningful results in perceptual aggressiveness and impulsive aggressiveness. The children in the experimental group, compared to the control group, showed lower level of aggressiveness both in post and further tests after the completion of the program. For impulsive aggressiveness, only further tests showed statistically meaningful difference. The experimental group showed significantly lower level of aggressiveness in both post and further tests than before the completion of the program. Case studies show that the level of children's expression of aggressiveness was increasing towards the end of the program, but on the 12th and last session, the expression of aggressiveness decreases significantly.
Second, in the pre-tests the aggressiveness of children, whether they belonged to experimental group or control group, showed no statistically meaningful results from the standpoint of teacher's perception. However, after conducting the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program, the decrease in experimental group children's aggressiveness towards objects was meaningfully perceived by the teachers. Further tests showed a total decrease in experimental group children's attack on objects, people and verbal assault.
Third, based on emotional maladjustment behaviors perceived by the teachers in the experimental group and control group, pre tests showed no statistically meaningful results. Post tests, however, showed statistically meaningful results in withdrawal behaviors and regressive behaviors. Further tests showed statistically meaningful differences between two groups in the wider realm such as withdrawal behaviors, hyper-activities, aggressive behaviors, regressive behaviors and obsessive behaviors. The experimental group, compared with the control group, showed a decrease in the emotional maladjustment behaviors.
Fourth, level of satisfaction for the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program showed to be relatively high. Likewise, the level of satisfaction per session for the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program showed to be comparatively high also.
Fifth, the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program which is the integration of Eurhythmics Music Technique and Food Art Therapy, has shown to be effective in decreasing children's aggressiveness and in reducing their emotional maladjustment behaviors.
Judging from the aforementioned results of this study, it proved to have meaningful effect on reducing the children's aggressiveness to conduct a short term Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program on children who come from low income families and have a tendency to exhibit aggressiveness, Analysis of case studies have shown that it's important to allow children to express their inherent aggressiveness through the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program.
Through Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program, the children may be guided to express their inherent factors, family relationship, peer relationship, relationship in school and more under free atmospheres. So it seems to be probable that the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program has such continuous effect as to make aggressive children's emotion mild and to reduce their aggressiveness. The point is that we can get such results by allowing children to express their potential aggressiveness and letting them experience catharsis through the Emotional Cleansing Arts Play program. Therefore, this study implies that the Emotional Purification Play program, which is a combination of Music Play and Food Art Play reconfigured from Dalcroze Eurhythmics music technique and Food Art Therapy, is an important one which may influence on children's emotional purification, expression of aggressiveness and its reduction.