Art Making In Stress Reduction Among Undergraduate Students

Abstract

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to explore the effects of art making sessions on stress among undergraduate students in a Malaysian private university. 16 students were randomly divided into two groups which are an experimental group and a control group.  The experimental group participated in six art making sessions. Each art making sessions used different art medium: (1) Coloring; (2) Painting; (3) Drawing; (4) Modeling Clay; (5) Collage Making; and (6) Mask-Making. The art making sessions were conducted twice a week for three consecutive weeks. The research instrument chosen for the study was the “Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)”. For the experimental group, the stress scale of “Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS)” was given before and after each art making session, and another instrument “Stress Symptoms Checklist” and the participant’s reflection was recorded to support the data of DASS. The control group does not participate in any art making sessions. For the control group, the research instruments were only given during the first session and second session of data collection. Post-intervention stress scores indicated the participants in experimental group experienced stress reduction following the art making sessions in comparison to the stress level of participants in the control group. These results provide confirmatory evidence that art making resulted stress reduction, which was further supported by the participant’s written responses. Besides that, another interesting finding of this study was that painting had been selected as the most favored medium of art compared to others. In conclusion, art making activities may provide an alternate means for university students to manage their stress.