The Impact of Arts on Emotional Empathy Among Adolescents From Intercultural Families - 论文

US-China Education Review B, April 2019, Vol. 9, No. 4, 150-157 doi: 10.17265/2161-6248/2019.04.004

D DAVID PUBLISHING The Impact of Arts on Emotional Empathy Among Adolescents

From Intercultural Families

Yulia Kryvenko

Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Istanbul, Turkey

In this study, the effects of a group art intervention on emotional empathy levels among adolescents from intercultural families were evaluated by means of the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (QMEE) that was used as a pre-/post- test measure with a control group. The art therapy intervention consisted of eight two-hour weekly meetings. Results of the repeated analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant improvement in empathy among the youth participating in the therapy, when compared with the control group. Irrespective of gender, the experimental group scored statistically higher in the post-test (p = 0.000032), especially among girls (p = 0.0001). The findings suggest that the group art therapy was effective in improving emotional empathy levels among adolescents from intercultural families.

Keywords: art intervention, emotional empathy, adolescents, intercultural family

Introduction

Empathy has been the focus of countless studies making the research on this topic plentiful (Davis, 1996;

King, 2011; Gerdes & Segal, 2009). Yet, there are still significant aspects of empathy that remain unexplored. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that art therapy helps to increase emotional empathy levels among children from intercultural families, specifically from Ukrainian-Turkish parents. It is assumed that such children experience specific confusions about their identity because of the different demands of each parent’s culture. Children in these families build resiliency and agility, while undergoing an adaptation process that makes it difficult for them to pursue the concept of self and clearly define relations to other people, often due to intergenerational differences that normally become more pronounced during adolescence. An exchange of empathy between parent and adolescent also becomes more complicated than when they were parent and child. In childhood, the age where attachment and imitation create mutual closeness, parent and child are highly emotionally attuned to the other as they build a strong bond of dependence and trust. However, this type of intimacy slowly breaks down when children enter their middle school years, and the age of detachment begins for more independence and differentiation for more individuality. As young adults grow older, they may feel confused about their identity and unsure how to present themselves to others or how people perceive them. Therefore, it might be particularly important to engage children in conversations about their feelings and experiences as well as allow them to express themselves through creative outlets like writing, dance, theater, art, or poetry. Research has shown that after art therapy, children are able to express their opinions and feelings more openly and directly (Bilgin, 2011). Yulia Kryvenko, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Social Work, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University.