اثرات هنر درمانی بر زندانیان مرد و زن: پیشبرد پایگاه تحقیقاتی

Since the summer of 2003, several studies have been conducted to quantify the benefits of art therapy with prison inmates. These studies demonstrated a marked improvement in mood, behavior, and problem-solving [Gussak, D. (2007). The effectiveness of art therapy in reducing depression in prison populations. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 5(4), 444–460; Gussak, D. (2006). The effects of art therapy with prison inmates: A follow-up study. Arts in Psychotherapy, 33, 188–198; Gussak, D. (2004). A pilot research study on the efficacy of art therapy with prison inmates. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 31(4), 245–259]. The results of this study encouraged an ongoing quantitative study to ascertain improvement in depression, locus of control, and behavior in both a men and women's prison population. The Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS), the Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form (BDI-II), and the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale (ANS) were administered as pre- and post-test assessments. A control group pre-test/post-test design was implemented for this study. Although the results from the FEATS did not yield supportive data, the results of the BDI-II and ANS supported the assumption that art therapy was effective in reducing depression and improving locus of control in the adult male and female inmates. Despite the results of the FEATS, it was concluded that art therapy was effective. This article concludes with a brief discussion of how the research has been instrumental in developing a statewide Florida Arts in Corrections program.

Since the summer of 2003, several studies have been conducted to quantify the benefits of art therapy with prison inmates. The initial pilot study (Gussak, 2004) yielded data that supported its effectiveness with this population. The quasi-experimental study used the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale (FEATS) (Gantt & Tabone, 1998), and a pre-test–post-test behavioral observation tool designed by the prison counselor and primary researcher as the measurement tools. The results indicated that over 4 weeks, two sessions a week, the inmates who participated in the pilot study demonstrated significant improvement in mood, attitude, and interactions with peers and staff. These results warranted an experimental follow-up study (Gussak, 2006). The pre-test–post-test control group follow-up study used the FEATS and the Beck Depression Inventory-Short Form (BDI-II) to quantify the effectiveness of art therapy in reducing depression, and increase problem solving and socialization. The results indicated that over 8 weeks, one session a week, although the FEATS yielded no significant results, the BDI-II indicated significant decrease in depression in the experimental group as compared to the control group. The results of these two studies justified continuing these studies over the next 2 years. The subsequent research focused on both female and male prison populations, and evaluated the effectiveness of art therapy with not only reducing depression but also its effect on locus of control. This report will present the research methodology used, the results, and a discussion of these results. The article will conclude with a brief overview of future research goals and plans for art therapy in the Florida prison system.

These studies used a pre-test–post-test control group design. There were several men and women's experimental groups, and each experimental group met once a week for 15-weeks, or one research period. The results from the experimental groups emerged over the span of two research periods. One women and one men's control group was formed for comparison data. Thirty-seven members of the men's experimental group completed the pre- and post-ANS and 35 members of the men's experimental group completed the pre- and post-BDI-II assessment. Twenty-five members of the men's control group completed a pre- and post-ANS and BDI-II assessment. The changes in ANS scores and BDI-II scores from pre-test to post-test (i.e., post-test score–pre-test score) were calculated and the differences were analyzed using independent-sample t tests to find differences between the experimental and control groups. The results for the change in ANS scores for the men were t(60) = −2.249, p < .05. The experimental group (M = −1.22, S.D. = 4.04) had significantly greater decrease in external locus of control from pretest to posttest than the control group (M = 1.04, S.D. = 3.61). The effect size of .59 was calculated using Cohen's d equation. The results for the change in BDI-II for the men were t(58) = 2.475, p < .05. The experimental group (M = −6.69, S.D. = 10.38) had a significantly greater decrease in depression from pretest to posttest than the control group (M = .12, S.D. = 9.80). The effect size of .66 was calculated using Cohen's d equation. Since the p values fall below .05, the null hypothesis—that there was no change overall in the pre and post-BDI-II and the ANS for the men—can be confidently rejected. Seventy-one members of the women's experimental group completed the pre- and post-ANS and 76 members of the women's experimental group completed the pre- and post-BDI-II assessment. Twenty members of the control group completed a pre- and post-ANS and BDI-II assessment. The changes in ANS scores and BDI-II scores from pre-test to post-test (i.e., post-test score–pre-test score) were calculated and the differences were analyzed using independent-sample t tests to find differences between the experimental and control groups. The results for the change in ANS scores for the women were t(89) = −2.89, p < .05. The experimental group (M = −3.21, S.D. = 5.58) had significantly greater decrease in external locus of control from pre-test to post-test than the control group (M = .70, S.D. = 4.37). The effect size of .74 was calculated using Cohen's d equation. The results for the change in BDI-II for the women were BDI-II: t(94) = −2.487, p < .05. The experimental group (M = −10.67, S.D. = 11.10) had a significantly greater decrease in depression from pre-test to post-test than the control group (M = −4.30, S.D. = 5.22). The effect size of.63 for the BDI-II were calculated using Cohen's d equation. Since the p values fall below .05, the null hypothesis—that there was no change overall in the pre and post-BDI-II and the ANS for the women—can be confidently rejected. Sixty-five members of the women's experimental group and 19 members of the control group completed the pre- and post-PPAT. The change in FEATS scores from pre-test to post-test (i.e., post-test score–pre-test score) were calculated for each of the eight categories and the differences were analyzed using independent-sample t tests to find differences between the experimental and control groups for both the male and female inmates. There was no significant change between the experimental and control group for male participants in six of the eight categories. The only significant results for the women's group were for two of the scales; prominence in color, t(82) = −2.61, p < .05, and color fit, t(82) = −2.31, p, .05. The experimental group (M = −.39, S.D. = 1.10) had significantly greater change in prominence of color than the control group (M = .42, S.D. = 1.44). The experimental group (M = −.21, S.D. = .73) had significantly greater change in color fit than the control group (M = .24, S.D. = .77). The effect sizes of .76 for prominence of color and .61 for color fit were calculated using Cohen's d equation. Since not all of the scales reflected significant change, the null hypothesis cannot be comfortably rejected for this measure. Therefore, the data from the FEATS did not support the hypothesis.