Efficacy of Art Based Interventions for Emotional Problems among Children Affected by Earthquake in Nepal

Title

Efficacy of Art Based Interventions for Emotional Problems among Children Affected by Earthquake in Nepal

Creator

Shrestha, Nishtha

Contributor

Gopal, Baiju.

Description

The earthquake of April 2015 left Nepal in a vulnerable state. Children represent an estimated 3.2 million of the 8 million people affected by the earthquake. The aim of the study was to examine the role of art in dealing with the long-term impact of earthquake on emotional problems in children in Nepal. A purposive sampling was adopted to select 454 children studying in 4th and 5th standard from four schools in Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Children completed the Level of Exposure Scale while the parents provided information about the emotional and behavioural difficulties of children using the Nepali version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ/ 4-17). The influence of gender, severity of exposure, socio-economic status and type of family in relation to emotional problems were also examined in the selected group. The results of Phase 1 show that conduct, hyperactivity-inattention and peer problems were higher in boys while girls had higher pro-social behaviour. Children belonging to lower socio-economic status were found to be at risk for emotional problems. Gender and exposure were also identified as predictors of emotional problems in children. For the second phase of the study, those children with high emotional problems (N=60) were selected for an art-based intervention consisting of nine sessions. Both the treatment (N=30) and control group (N=30) completed the pre- and post- treatment measure of SDQ. The results show that the children in the treatment group reported lower levels of emotional problems, hyperactivity-inattention and peer problems compared to the control group (Cohen's d: 0.50-0.80). In the final phase of the study, 12 children from the treatment group were interviewed to identify the elements of art that contributed to a change in the emotional problems. A thematic vii analysis revealed six global themes: a new schema, an expression space, drawing the trauma, reappraisal of trauma narrative, protective factors and future benefits. The responses of the children show that the inherent properties such as regulation and social connection promoted by an engagement in arts needs to be adopted as an effective mode of trauma care. The findings also point to the possibility of using art-based therapy to overcome stigma which hinder the mental health professionals when implementing evidence-based treatments in the country.

Source

Author's Submission

Date

2023-01-01

Publisher

Christ(Deemed to be University)

Subject

Psychology

Rights

Open Access

Relation

61000218

Format

PDF

Language

English

Type

PhD

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10603/474169