Art-Based Intervention for College Student’s Suffering from Anxiety According to the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment, Within the last 12 months, 21.9% of the students reported anxiety affected their individual academic performance, they either received a lower grade on an exam, course, received an incomplete or dropped the course. Twenty-three percent of the students also reported that in the last 2 week they felt overwhelming anxiety (American College Health). Anxiety, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, is excessive and constant uneasiness and worry (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). College is a transitional phase—college students have to leave home, tackle new and more …show more content…
The prevalence of anxiety among college students and the simultaneous lack of resources catered for more informal anxiety interventions have created a need for creative interventions that will draw more participation. Formal on campus interventions that provide typical therapeutic sessions can sometimes look daunting and intimidating, may discourage individuals from getting help. Art-based activities can be especially beneficial because they can draw more individuals in who find formal therapy intimidating. The following studies show the positive impact art-based intervention can have on college students’ anxiety levels. Despite the benefits, art-based interventions are underutilized on college campuses. Engaging in art can serve as a powerful outlet for college students to digress from negative emotions that trigger anxiety. Drawing …show more content…
Using 90 college students (N=90) from a public university in the United States, they randomly assigned the students into one of three groups: individual art project, group art project, or non-art project control group. In the individual art project, two paper towels, a cup of water, a paintbrush, a marker, a pallet of watercolors and a pre-labeled sheet of watercolor paper was made available for the participants. Verbal instructions were read in which the participants were told they were participating in a guided art project. Although this was a guided project, participants were given the freedom to interpret instructions freely. The participants were asked to draw a variety of 12 line types. The following step asked participants to add color to their design with no limitations; however, they had 15 minutes to complete this portion of the project. To keep track, a photograph was taken of the painting and labeled with the corresponding ID number. The same applied to the group art project, except, students had to work together. In the control group, the non-painting group had a choice of Sudoku and word puzzles to complete during the 20-minutes session. After each group finished, they were escorted to a separate room to complete the SSAI for the second time. Researchers used the state version of the