The Effectiveness of Coloring Methods for Anxiety Reduction (original) (raw)

The Effectiveness of Structured Coloring Activities for Anxiety Reduction

Art Therapy, 2018

The present study compared the effects of four different coloring activities on state anxiety scores to determine whether adult coloring books are as effective as other coloring activities in reducing anxiety. Participants included 160 undergraduates attending a private, Christian, liberal arts university. After engaging in an anxiety induction activity, participants completed an anxiety inventory, engaged in an assigned coloring activity, and then completed the anxiety inventory again. Results indicated that all four conditions significantly reduced anxiety; however, none of the conditions differed significantly from each other in their effectiveness, suggesting that coloring books are as effective as other coloring activities in reducing anxiety. Implications for coloring book use and its relationship to the field of art therapy are discussed.

The Effectiveness of Coloring in Reducing Anxiety and Improving PWB in Adolescents

IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities, 2021

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stressful situations. Excessive anxiety can affect various aspects of life, especially in adolescents. Adolescents who have anxiety tend to experience sleep disorders, substance abuse, and suicide. Therefore, intervention is needed for adolescents who experience anxiety. One of the appropriate interventions for adolescents is art therapy with coloring techniques. Previous research has obtained evidence that coloring can reduce anxiety and improve psychological well-being (PWB). This study aims to determine the effectiveness of coloring activities in reducing anxiety and increasing PWB in adolescents. By using a quasi-experimental design pretest-posttest, total participants in this study were 26 students aged 15-18 years, were divided into two groups, such as mandala and other shapes coloring groups. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is used to measure anxiety and the PWB questionnaire is used to measure psychological well-being. Using paired sa...

Cognitive and Affective Benefits of Coloring: Two Randomized Controlled Crossover Studies

Art therapy, 2019

The current research sought to replicate and extend work suggesting that coloring can reduce anxiety, asking whether coloring can improve cognitive performance. In two experiments undergraduates (N = 47; N = 52) colored and participated in a control condition. Subjective and performance measures of mood and mindfulness were included: an implicit mood test (Experiment 1) and a selective attention task (Experiment 2) along with a divergent thinking test. In both experiments coloring significantly reduced anxiety and increased mindfulness compared with control and baseline scores. Following coloring participants scored significantly lower on implicit fear, than the control condition, and significantly higher on selective attention and original ideation. Coloring may not only reduce anxiety, but also improve mindful attention and creative cognition.