Examining the Effects of Art Therapy on Reoccurring Tobacco Use in a Taiwanese Youth Population: A Mixed-Method Study

Abstract

A total of 66 students (n = 40 experimental group; n = 26 comparison group) were the subjects of quantitative analysis. No differences were noted in baseline characteristics of groups. Generalized estimating equation analyses suggested significant between-group differences in change from pre- to follow-up test scores in the "social domain" (B = -5.12, p < 0.05). Qualitative data (n = 17 experimental group; n = 10 control group) suggested three domains: effects of art therapy on smoking prevention, benefits of art therapy on other outcome measures, and comparison between art therapy and traditional smoking cessation programs. Conclusions/importance: The findings of this study can potentially contribute significantly to existing knowledge regarding the perceptions of art therapy on reoccurring tobacco use in Taiwanese youth.

Group art activities and arts therapies for people using substances: A rapid review of the literature

“…From reviewing the literature it would appear that participation in group arts has positive outcomes on the recovery pathways of people who misuse substances. There is convergent support from both qualitative (Biley, 2006;Dickson, 2007;Feen-Calligan, 2007;Hanes, 2007;Holt & Kaiser, 2009;Hong, Guo, Huang & Yin, 2017;Humphreys, 2000;Jaaniste, 2008;Klingemann & Klingemann, 2016;Newman, 2017;Reynolds, 2017;Roy and Manley, 2017;Skeffington & Browne, 2014;Spring, Smith & DaSilva, 2017;Zontou, 2012Zontou, , 2013 and quantitative studies (Hong, Guo, Huang & Yin, 2017;Megranahan & Lynskey, 2018;Silverman, 2011;2015;2016ab). However, research into this area is still emerging and there is substantial room for further research involving larger sample sizes.…”

“…All included groups art therapy studies used qualitative outcome measures, with one study also investigating quantitative outcome measures. All the studies gave participants a means by which to share and explore their experiences (Biley, 2006;Dickson, 2007;Feen-Calligan, 2007;Hanes, 2007;Holt & Kaiser, 2009;Skeffington & Browne, 2014;Hong, Guo, Huang & Yin, 2017). Some studies highlight how the role of group art therapy can help individuals become aware of their addictions (Feen-Calligan, 2007;Hanes, 2007) as well as recognising ambivalence, which is necessary in order to fully assess the pros and cons of drug use prior to effecting any changes (Holt & Kaiser, 2009;Hong, Guo, Huang & Yin, 2017).…”

“…All the studies gave participants a means by which to share and explore their experiences (Biley, 2006;Dickson, 2007;Feen-Calligan, 2007;Hanes, 2007;Holt & Kaiser, 2009;Skeffington & Browne, 2014;Hong, Guo, Huang & Yin, 2017). Some studies highlight how the role of group art therapy can help individuals become aware of their addictions (Feen-Calligan, 2007;Hanes, 2007) as well as recognising ambivalence, which is necessary in order to fully assess the pros and cons of drug use prior to effecting any changes (Holt & Kaiser, 2009;Hong, Guo, Huang & Yin, 2017). Other studies explored challenging social stigma, which can be a barrier to change (Biley, 2006), since 'problems with living' require solutions in the community (Spring, Smith & DaSilva, 2017).…”

“…Other studies explored challenging social stigma, which can be a barrier to change (Biley, 2006), since 'problems with living' require solutions in the community (Spring, Smith & DaSilva, 2017). It was found that group art therapy also provided a distraction from substance misuse and helped individuals to concentrate better (Hong, Guo, Huang & Yin, 2017). One study highlighted how group art therapy safely contained an individual's emotions, allowing exploration; this was particularly notable since the individual had a history of traumatic experiences, and talking therapies failed (Skeffington & Browne, 2014).…”

The effect of active visual art therapy on health outcomes: protocol of a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

“…The use of AVAT is frequently associated with the treatment of psychiatric, psychosomatic, psychological, or neurological disorders, such as anxiety [ 2 ], depression [ 3 ], eating disorders [ 4 ], trauma [ 5 , 6 ], cognitive impairment, or dementia [ 7 ]. However, the application of AVAT extends beyond that, thereby broadening its potential benefits: it is also used to complement the treatment of cystic fibrosis [ 8 ] or cancer [ 9 , 10 ], to build up resilience and well-being [ 11 , 12 ], or to stop adolescents from smoking [ 13 ].…”