ERIC Number: ED456369
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 2001
Pages: 18
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Educational Applications of Art Therapy: Increasing Collegiality within Campus Residential Areas.
Brown, Ara C.; Colon, Enid S.; Garman, Nicole; Chambliss, Catherine
Given the increasing use of art as a means of fostering communication in therapeutic settings, it was hypothesized that an art-focused group activity might improve social relations on a college campus and reduce campus residents' levels of loneliness. A controlled efficacy evaluation was conducted using college students (N=140) living in 11 separate dormitories on a small liberal arts college campus. The art intervention asked students to draw where they felt they were socially in their dormitory. They then drew as a group where they would like to be socially. Each student discussed his or her position in the dormitory. The group then decided what could be done to make each member of the group feel more comfortable in the dormitory setting. Surveys were completed before, during, and after the art intervention. The entire sample showed a significant improvement on the loneliness measure in the follow-up survey. On the residential satisfaction measure, scores revealed a significant improvement after participation in the intervention, but the improvement attenuated over time. The survey is appended. (JDM)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A