Published Paper Details:

Anxiety disorders are most common diagnosis in school going children, with prevalence rate of 8%. Untreated anxiety in children can have deleterious consequences. Art therapy can be meditative and mindful practice which promotes a state of relaxation, reduces anxiety and fosters a sense of calmness especially for those who are experiencing anxiety. A quasi experimental one group pre-test post-test study was conducted with the aim to assess the effectiveness of Art therapy on anxiety among the school going children and to find out the association with selected demographic variables. Conceptual framework was based on Karl Ludwig Von Bertalarffy's General System Theory. Data was collected from 108 school going children through systematic random sampling technique before and after intervention by using Spence Children's Anxiety Scale-Child at Dr. B.R Ambedkar Primary School, Siliguri. Analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that 28.70% of children had elevated anxiety, 27.77% had moderate anxiety and 5.55% had severe anxiety which after art therapy reduced to 9.28%, 7.40% and 2.77% respectively. Pre-test and post-test mean score is 61?8.67 and 55.78?30.81 respectively. The calculated 'r' value is 0.48 showing mild positive correlation between pre-test and post-test score which was found to be statistically significant with 't' value of 13.97*** at p<=0.001 level of significance. Significant association were found between level of anxiety with demographic variables like age and gender at p<=0.001, mother's occupation and family income at p<=0.05, child's education, parent's education and presence of care giver at p<=0.50 level of significance. The study concluded that art therapy was effective in reducing the level of anxiety among school going children.