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 in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Juan-juan Li, Xiao-bin Ding, Hai-yan Zhao, Lin Wang, Ting-ting Jia, Xi-yun Zhong, Tie-jun Kang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Acta Psychologica
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825007127
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849237932636897280
author Juan-juan Li
Xiao-bin Ding
Hai-yan Zhao
Lin Wang
Ting-ting Jia
Xi-yun Zhong
Tie-jun Kang
author_facet Juan-juan Li
Xiao-bin Ding
Hai-yan Zhao
Lin Wang
Ting-ting Jia
Xi-yun Zhong
Tie-jun Kang
author_sort Juan-juan Li
collection DOAJ
description 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 (ηp2 = 0.54), depression (ηp2 = 0.26), and anxiety (ηp2 = 0.19), along with increased personal growth (ηp2 = 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.
format Article
id doaj-art-732ac72a995942c4b41aa4c72e7471cb
institution Kabale University
issn 0001-6918
language English
publishDate 2025-09-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Acta Psychologica
spelling doaj-art-732ac72a995942c4b41aa4c72e7471cb2025-08-20T04:01:48ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-09-0125910539910.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105399The effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students: An exploratory studyJuan-juan Li0Xiao-bin Ding1Hai-yan Zhao2Lin Wang3Ting-ting Jia4Xi-yun Zhong5Tie-jun Kang6School of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China; Correspondence to: X.-b. Ding, 967, Anning East Road, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.School of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaTongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Correspondence to: T.-j. Kang, 500, Zhennan Road, Putuo District, Shanghai, China.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 (ηp2 = 0.54), depression (ηp2 = 0.26), and anxiety (ηp2 = 0.19), along with increased personal growth (ηp2 = 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.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825007127Mandala drawingBereaved college studentsNegative emotionsPersonal growthGrief
spellingShingle Juan-juan Li
Xiao-bin Ding
Hai-yan Zhao
Lin Wang
Ting-ting Jia
Xi-yun Zhong
Tie-jun Kang
The effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students: An exploratory study
Acta Psychologica
Mandala drawing
Bereaved college students
Negative emotions
Personal growth
Grief
title The effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students: An exploratory study
title_full The effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students: An exploratory study
title_fullStr The effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students: An exploratory study
title_full_unstemmed The effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students: An exploratory study
title_short The effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students: An exploratory study
title_sort effects of mandala group art therapy on bereaved college students an exploratory study
topic Mandala drawing
Bereaved college students
Negative emotions
Personal growth
Grief
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825007127
work_keys_str_mv AT juanjuanli theeffectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT xiaobinding theeffectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT haiyanzhao theeffectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT linwang theeffectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT tingtingjia theeffectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT xiyunzhong theeffectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT tiejunkang theeffectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT juanjuanli effectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT xiaobinding effectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT haiyanzhao effectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT linwang effectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT tingtingjia effectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT xiyunzhong effectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy
AT tiejunkang effectsofmandalagrouparttherapyonbereavedcollegestudentsanexploratorystudy