Journal of Sociology and Social Work

Evaluating Effectiveness of Expressive Group Art Therapy on Decreasing Anxiety among Adolescents with PTSD
Yulia Kryvenko PhD

Abstract
Little research exists on using expressive art therapy methods as an anxiety-reducing intervention with children whose parents have died or were injured in war conflicts. In this study, pretest/posttest design was employed with 12 adolescents from Ukraine who visited Turkey to participate in a two-week art therapy program. The program included coloring mandalas, dance therapy, collage making and emotions drawing. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used as a pre- and posttest measure. Results revealed a significant decrease in a state anxiety (p=0.037) after the treatment, especially among the boys. However, due to a small sample size (boys N=4, girls N=8) no significant gender interaction was found. Both boys and girls displayed lower scores for state anxiety in the posttest procedure. These results provide evidence that expressive arts work may effectively reduce S-anxiety for adolescents who have survived a traumatic event such as war-related death or injury of a parent.

Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jssw.v5n2a20