Psychology and art major Katya Scott ’24 was selected as a recipient of a 2023-24 Fall Mamie Phipps Clark Diversity Research Grant from Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, for her project entitled “Art Therapy with Ukrainian Refugees.” The $1200 grant will help cover transcription fees for the interviews she plans to conduct as part of her SMP being mentored by Professor of Psychology Libby Nutt Williams. Katya also received $1000 in project support from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs to help cover project costs related to art supplies, survey license fees, research travel to conduct interviews and various services (e.g., translation, interpreter, art therapist).
Alum April Fraser ’23 (psychology major and international languages & cultures: Spanish minor) was awarded a 2022-23 Summer Undergraduate Research Grant for her project titled “What Doesn't Kill You (Sometimes) Makes You Stronger: The role of growth, meaning, acceptance, and perceived control after trauma” in the amount of $1,452. This funding allowed April to continue research related to her SMP presented in May 2023, and was used to pay survey participants recruited from Prolific. April’s mentor, Assistant Professor of Psychology Kristina Howansky, received a $1500 stipend as part of the award.
Katerina’s project abstract:
This project seeks to explore the potential benefits of a five-week art therapy program with adult Ukrainian refugees through a mixed-methods approach. The program will, more specifically, examine the usage of culturally significant materials in art therapy with this population. Ukrainian refugees account for the second-largest group of refugees worldwide, and it is essential to provide them with adequate mental health support. Art therapy shows particular promise because it de-emphasizes verbal communication, potentially lessening the impact of language barriers and providing a space for those who find it difficult to talk about their experiences to express themselves, but it is insufficiently researched. When working with refugees, it is important to approach from a place of cultural humility; thus, the program will use culturally significant art materials. A mixed-methods approach will allow the researchers to analyze data from multiple scientific perspectives. Pre- and post-test surveys will assess anxiety, resilience, stressors, and community connection before and after the program. We hypothesize that participants will experience a reduction in anxiety and an increase in resilience and community connection over the course of the program. Participants will also be given the option to do interviews exploring their experiences with the program, which will be analyzed qualitatively using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR). Overall, the project aims to establish an empirical basis for culturally significant art materials in art therapy with adult refugees.
April’s project abstract:
Pursuing meaning in one’s life has become an area of increased interest in psychology. Existing psychological interventions incorporating meaning-making range from logotherapy to newer behavioral therapies, namely acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which uses principles of values engagement. Results from an initial study (Study 1, N = 150) on the role of meaning in life in post-traumatic outcomes indicated that the presence of meaning predicts post-traumatic growth among participants with high trauma experiences. However, the search for meaning predicted more PTSD and depressive symptomatology. So, while having meaning appears to be beneficial, the process of searching for that meaning may not be. I propose a follow-up study to replicate past findings and examine how searching for meaning may be linked to negative mental health outcomes. I hypothesize a significant interaction between the search for meaning and acceptance, such that the search for meaning will predict more severe PTSD for those low in acceptance and less severe PTSD for those high in acceptance. I further hypothesize a significant interaction between the search for meaning and locus of control, such that the search for meaning will predict more severe PTSD for those with a low internal locus of control and less severe PTSD for those with a high internal locus of control. Results will further clarify the role of the presence and search for meaning in post-traumatic outcomes and inform the development and implementation of meaning-related interventions.
