EVALUATION OF THE EFFECT OF AN ART ACTIVITY IN IMPROVING EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE OF ADOLESCENTS: MANDALA

Abstract

Art activities are the activities that enhance emotional resilience by distraction among the adolescents who experience feelings such as anxiety, stress, conflict and unworthiness and help them to experience positive feelings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of drawing and painting mandala, that is an art activity method, on enhancing emotional resilience. This analitic and interventional study was carried out with 254 students who were studying their 9, 10 and 11th years in a high school affiliated with National Directorate of Education in Zonguldak between January 1-May 31, 2017. Data of the study were collected by Student Information Form, Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-12), The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience for Adolescents (SPANE) and Children’s Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES). Interventional part of the study was conducted by assigning 41 students to the study group and 41 to control group among the students who got low scores. Based on the results of the study, it was determined that CYRM-12 scores were significantly increased after each mandala session. It was found that the scores of CSES subscales of social efficacy, emotional self-efficacy and general self-efficacy, positive experience subscale of SPANE and SPANE were increased according to CYRM-12 at the end of fourth mandala activity. Based on these results, it has been concluded that art activity called mandala is an effective method in enhancing psychological resilience of the adolescents.