How Art Reduces Anxiety in College Students
Start Date
April 2020
End Date
April 2020
Major Field of Study
Psychology
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Afshin Gharib, PhD
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
Previous research has reported therapeutic uses of art. Ranging from people with Autism to no disorder, art therapy and participating in artistic activities has shown to be an extremely helpful way of solving issues of anxiety and promoting healthy ways to cope with stress. Several studies have previously been done on how beneficial art can be, and more are being conducted as the subject is getting more popular amongst therapists of all natures and the therapeutic community. The topic of art therapy has also branched out into several populations, such as college students. Multiple studies have been performed to look into the benefits of artistic activities, such as the reduction of stress. For instance, Curl (2008) ran a study to assess stress reduction as a function of artistic creation. He found that participants across all conditions showed a decrease in stress, and how participating in artistic activities can give someone a “creative high” which also assists in stress reduction. Another example was performed by Eaton and Tieber (2017), who investigated the effects of coloring on anxiety, mood, and perseverance. Their results concluded that there were positive effects of coloring, and suggested that overall well-being could be related to performing artistic activities. This study will examine the long-term effects of participating in artistic activities on anxiety in college students. It is hypothesized that doing an artistic activity will significantly reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.
How Art Reduces Anxiety in College Students
Previous research has reported therapeutic uses of art. Ranging from people with Autism to no disorder, art therapy and participating in artistic activities has shown to be an extremely helpful way of solving issues of anxiety and promoting healthy ways to cope with stress. Several studies have previously been done on how beneficial art can be, and more are being conducted as the subject is getting more popular amongst therapists of all natures and the therapeutic community. The topic of art therapy has also branched out into several populations, such as college students. Multiple studies have been performed to look into the benefits of artistic activities, such as the reduction of stress. For instance, Curl (2008) ran a study to assess stress reduction as a function of artistic creation. He found that participants across all conditions showed a decrease in stress, and how participating in artistic activities can give someone a “creative high” which also assists in stress reduction. Another example was performed by Eaton and Tieber (2017), who investigated the effects of coloring on anxiety, mood, and perseverance. Their results concluded that there were positive effects of coloring, and suggested that overall well-being could be related to performing artistic activities. This study will examine the long-term effects of participating in artistic activities on anxiety in college students. It is hypothesized that doing an artistic activity will significantly reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.
Comments
This presentation was accepted for the Scholarly and Creative Works Conference at Dominican University of California. The Conference was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic