This meta-analysis assessed the effectiveness of mandala coloring, compared with free drawing, on state anxiety in adults. A systematic search for studies yielded eight studies, which constituted a total of 578 participants, with 289 in the mandala coloring group and 289 in the free drawing group. The results indicated that coloring mandala…

The paper presents an experiment with a squiggle game in a design class: a joint drawing activity. The squiggle game, which comes from psychoanalysis, has been adapted to a teaching-learning situation in order to observe how graphic design practices and skills develop through creativity. The hypothesis is that the game impacts the training of…

Self-cognition and self-acceptance are essential for mental health development and emotion in college students. The study investigated the efficacy of group drawing therapy in improving Chinese college students' positive self-cognition and self-acceptance. It is worth noting that Chinese college students in a collectivist culture have systematic…

This article discusses the clinical benefit of comparing and integrating responses to 2 drawing tasks based on a small study that explored self-agency representations in children with disruptive behavior problems. Qualitative analysis of the children's free drawing and a Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT) task, as well as comparison of…

This study compared the effects of 2 art activities (structured and nonstructured) and a focused breathing exercise on outcome measures of mindfulness, anxiety, and affect. Seventy-seven participants, recruited from university students and the general public, were randomly assigned to either 15 min of coloring a mandala (structured), free drawing…

This study compared students with specific learning disorders (SLDs) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) based on the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS). Thirty students with SLDs, 30 students with ADHD, and 30 students without SLDs/ADHD in Babol (Iran) completed the Person Picking an Apple from a Tree (PPAT) assessment.…

This study examined the impact of art-based life review on depression symptoms among older adults (N = 54). This is the first study to examine the impact of drawing among Iranian older adults. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental art group of 6 weekly sessions or a control group of the same duration; both groups…

In this study we tested whether drawing and coloring influence cardiovascular recovery and perceived stress following exposure to a stressor. In a mixed experimental design, participants (N = 62) completed an acute stress task before being randomly assigned to one of three brief activities: free-form drawing (full creative control), coloring…

This study correlated measures of adolescents' rejection sensitivity with their self-drawings in a sample of 323 nonclinical Israeli adolescents. Drawings were coded using the DAP-SPED scoring system (Naglieri, 1988). The findings indicated no correlation between adolescents' level of rejection sensitivity and the DAP-SPED composite score. A…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of art therapy for 9 children with autism spectrum disorder in India using a pre-post experimental design with a control group. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale was used to measure symptoms before and after 8 individual art therapy sessions, and changes in the children's art development was…

This article examines the context and content of 15 drawings created in the early 1990s by Guatemalan children who survived government-led systemic violence against their Maya Tz'utujil community. Titled "Children in Crisis," all 15 drawings collected by Albert Hurwitz depict similar stories of loss and violence. Considering the…

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the diversity of characteristics in the drawings of children in Mexico City. The authors conducted a thematic analysis of 174 drawings from children ages 6 to 11 that revealed two main discrete themes: nature and stress. A personalized, supportive relationship with nature emerged as a…

The Bird's Nest Drawing (BND; Kaiser, 1996) is an art-based technique developed to assess attachment security. In an attempt to expand the BND's validity, the authors explored the possible associations between parental representations and the BND's dimensions and attachment classifications in a sample of 80 young Israeli mothers. Positive…

During the 1930s and 1940s art increasingly came to be used as a therapeutic tool with children who were perceived as damaged by their experiences of war or displacement. This article explores two related exhibitions--"Children's Art from All Countries" (1941) and "The War as Seen by Children" (1943)--which provided a platform…

Assessment is the foundation for conceptualizing effective interventions. Due to their nonverbal nature, art therapy assessments have an advantage over traditional verbal assessments in some populations and potentially across cultures. This pilot study provides preliminary reliability data to support the cross-cultural use of the Formal Elements…