The Effect of an Art Activities Program on the Depression and Self Esteem of Junior High School Students in Bangkok

Abstract

        This quasi-experimental research, utilizing a one group pretest-posttest design, aimed to study the effectiveness of the art activities program on depression and self-esteem of junior high school students in Bangkok. The sample comprised 59 lower secondary school students in Bangkok and the sample had low to moderate level scores and significant depression as measured by the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). The sample was selected through purposive sampling. The data instruments consisted of the art activities program, the Thai version of the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Thai version of Pictorial Thai Self-Esteem Scale (PTSS). The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and paired t-test. The research results show that the mean of the posttest of depressive scores was significantly lower than the pretest scores at p<.01, and the mean of the self-esteem scores was significantly higher than the pretest scores at p<.001.

        The research result shows that the art activities program is one alternative therapy that can be used to improve self-esteem and decrease depression among lower secondary school students.