The effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students: An exploratory study
This study examined the efficacy of Mandala Group Art Therapy in alleviating negative emotions and enhancing personal growth among bereaved college students. Using a randomized matched-pairs design, 48 participants (16 males, 32 females) were assigned to either an 8-week mandala group art therapy intervention (120-minute weekly sessions) or a control group. Outcome measures including grief (PG-13), depression, anxiety (DASS-21), and personal growth (HGRC-PG) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 2-month follow-up. Results demonstrated that compared to controls, the intervention group showed significant reductions in grief (η<sub>p</sub><sup>2</sup> = 0.54), depression (η<sub>p</sub><sup>2</sup> = 0.26), and anxiety (η<sub>p</sub><sup>2</sup> = 0.19), along with increased personal growth (η<sub>p</sub><sup>2</sup> = 0.26), with treatment effects maintained at follow-up (all ps < .001). These findings suggest that mandala group art therapy is an effective intervention for improving psychological adjustment in bereaved college students.
Authors
- Tingting Jia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4352-8211)
- Tiejun Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8698-1361)
- Juanjuan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0074-1453)
- Xiaobin Ding
- Haiyan Zhao
- Xiyun Zhong
- Wang Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3409-847X)
Institutions
- Tongji University (CN)
- Northwest Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Acta Psychologica
- Published
- 2025-08-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105399
- Primary Topic
- Art Therapy and Mental Health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Northwest Normal University
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China
- State Grid Corporation of China