Hilary Rushton, Carolyn M. Barry, Ph.D., Adanna Johnson-Evans, Ph.D., Beth A. Kotchick, Ph.D.
Evaluation of an Art Program’s Promotion of Resilience on Economically-Vulnerable Adolescents
Abstract
Resilience, a dynamic interplay between individuals and their environment, is a critical
factor in determining children’s and adolescents’ responses to adversity and development
(Werner, 1993). When children experience a high level of stress and/or trauma, their
ability to respond to this stress is determined largely by the context of their lives—family,
social environment, community, physical environment, family history—interacting with
their personal characteristics (Chu & Lieberman, 2010; Perry & Pollard, 1998; Wright
& Masten, 2005). The pervasiveness and harm of cumulative, chronic stress on development
and psychological functioning demands effective interventions to bolster resilience
factors in children with multiple risk factors (Sameroff & Fiese, 2000). Studies have
suggested that art therapy can bolster self-esteem, empowerment, emotional coping,
and social connection, as well as reduce anxiety, physiological arousal, and severity
of trauma symptoms, but there is a paucity of research on whether art promotes resilience (for a review, see DeLue, 1999; Jang & Choi, 2012; for a review,
see Reynolds et al., 2000; Slayton et al., 2010).
The current study sought to contribute methodologically to more rigorous studies in
the art therapy literature by examining the potential for therapeutic art to bolster
personal resilience factors through the evaluation of a school-based art intervention
program. Specifically, the current study examined changes in self-esteem, mastery,
social relatedness, and emotion reactivity in early adolescents who experience risk
as a function of their socioeconomic status (SES). Data has been collected but not
yet analyzed. This study was conducted over two semesters at a Baltimore City public
charter school through a weekly middle school art elective class designed to employ
therapeutic art as a resilience building intervention. Thirty-five male and female
students from grades six through eight participated in this study. Pretest and posttest
measures were completed by students in the art elective and students in a control
group, which was comprised of students from other elective classes.
It was hypothesized that the resilience scores of the students in the therapeutic
art intervention would increase over time and that they would increase significantly
more than the resilience scores of the students in the other elective classes. The
Resilience Scale for Children and Adolescents (RSCA) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale
were used to measure the individual resilience factors targeted by the art intervention—sense
of mastery, emotion reactivity, social relatedness, and self-esteem. Thus, the change
in change in resilience scores, as assessed by the scales from pre to posttest, was
measured for each student to determine the relation between participation in the therapeutic
art elective and overall resilience. The Stressful Life Event Scale and The Perceptions
of Racism in Children and Youth (PRaCY) were used to quantify the students’ experience
of risk. Risk was included as a descriptive variable due to the variability in types
and severity of risk experienced by the students participating in the elective programs.
Keywords: resilience, art therapy, therapeutic art, risk, chronic stress, art intervention