Abstract

This research paper aims to discover what demographic of people has a positive attitude toward art therapy and what demographic does not. Despite research showing art therapy to be very effective, research also shows that it may be most suited for Caucasian females. Results from this study were analyzed in hope of identifying what groups of people should be focused on when advocating for the use of art therapy with broader demographic groups. Gender and race were the two psychosocial factors looked at as well as people’s self-reported creative abilities. A survey was administered to college students at Eastern Kentucky University in which they completed a demographic questionnaire, a self-reported creativity scale, and an attitudes towards art therapy scale. Female participants had a more positive attitude towards art therapy than male participants. No difference was found between Caucasian and Non-Caucasian participants regarding attitudes towards art therapy, however Non-Caucasian participants rated themselves as more creative overall than Caucasian participants. A positive correlation was found between engagement in Visual Arts activities and attitudes towards art therapy. Overall, the findings from this study revealed that changes can be made to art therapy programs to help make art therapy more comfortable and effective for broader demographics of people. Examples of changes include rethinking what it means to be creative, implementing new media into the therapy process, and encouraging a more diverse population of art therapists across gender and race.

Semester/Year of Award

Fall 12-9-2019

Mentor

Theresa Botts

Mentor Professional Affiliation

Psychology

Access Options

Restricted Access Thesis

Document Type

Bachelor Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Scholars

Degree Level

Bachelor's

Department

Psychology

IRB Approval Number (if applicable)

2505

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