Videoconference-led art-based interventions for children during COVID-19: Comparing mindful mandala and emotion-based drawings

Abstract

Emerging evidence on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic suggests that children are experiencing a deterioration in mental health, namely, an increase in anxiety, depression, and hyperactivity symptoms. To address this rising issue, preventive strategies and mental health interventions need to be evaluated to help children in their school setting. Recent studies have suggested that art-based interventions could increase children's well-being and be easily implemented in schools. The goal of this study was to assess the effects of an emotion-based directed drawing intervention, compared to a mandala drawing intervention, on elementary school children's (n = 165) mental health, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. An experimental design was used to compare the effects of the two interventions on primary school students' anxiety, depression, and inattention symptoms. All drawing activities were led by an online facilitator, while children and teachers attended school in-person. Mixed analyses of variance revealed a significant effect of time on students' levels of anxiety. Post hoc sensitivity analyses indicated that children from both groups reported lower levels of anxiety pre- to postintervention. Results from this study showed that, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, both emotion-based and mandala drawing interventions could improve certain mental health aspects of elementary school children, by reducing their anxiety levels. Informal evidence indicates that implementing these interventions online and remotely through a videoconferencing platform is feasible and well received by children and their teachers. Nevertheless, future studies should include an inactive control group, explore the acceptability of the intervention, and use longitudinal methods to better document if the positive impacts on mental health can be maintained through time.