The effects of art therapy with various art media on emotion regulation strategies, stress, hormone levels and resilience for junior secondary school students

A study on the effects of art therapy with mixed media on emotion regulation strategies, psychological stress, cortisol rhythm, and resilience for junior secondary students: A randomized controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN36514547

Enrollment

Registered

2022-02-28

Start date

2019-09-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2022-03-14

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Depression Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

Participants from the art therapy with mixed media (ATMM) group attended eight 1.5-hour weekly sessions of art development class, with approximately 10 students in each group that were led by an exper

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Hong Kong junior secondary students, aged 11-15 from band 1 – 2 were recruited for the study. 2. S.2-3 students, aged between 11-15; 3. Ability to understand and communicate in Cantonese; 4. Medical conditions that are likely to limit group participation during the course of the 6-week program will be excluded; and 5. Willing to perform art making activities in group activities with minimal assistance.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Participants were excluded if they had been clinically diagnosed with depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, or any other psychiatric disorder that required medical treatment or professional intervention during the past 12 months, diagnosed with other medical conditions or receiving counselling treatment during the program. Both parents and the participants gave written informed consent prior to the screening procedures and joining the study.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Measured at T0 (baseline), T1 (after completion of the intervention), and T2 (8 weeks following the completion of the intervention): 1. Salivary cortisol measured using the “Salivette” kits (Starstedt, Ag & Co., Numbrecht, Germany) 2. Emotion regulation measured using the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (S-DERS) 3. Emotion measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) 4. The 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) 5. Emotional awareness measured using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)	—

Measure

Time frame

Measured at T0 (baseline), T1 (after completion of the intervention), and T2 (8 weeks following the completion of the intervention): 1. Salivary cortisol measured using the “Salivette” kits (Starstedt, Ag & Co., Numbrecht, Germany) 2. Emotion regulation measured using the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (S-DERS) 3. Emotion measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) 4. The 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) 5. Emotional awareness measured using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Experiences of the intervention measured using focus groups at completion of the intervention	—

Countries

China, Hong Kong

Contacts

Public ContactKin-man Joshua Nan

joshuanan@hkbu.edu.hk+852 34112009

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026