Emotional benefits of brief creative movement and art interventions

The objective of this study was to determine if either creative movement or art were effective at decreasing stress among college students and improving their mood. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to either a movement (n = 30) or an art (n = 30) intervention. Before the intervention, participants in both conditions wrote about a current stressor, rated their perceived intensity of the stressor, and completed a mood questionnaire (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule; Watson a al., 1988). Following the intervention participants again completed the mood questionnaire, wrote about a current stressor, and rated their perceived intensity of the stressor. Two-way ANOVAs (group x time) found significant reductions in stress (p < .001) and negative affect (p < .001), in addition to increases in positive affect (p = .007) for both groups from pre- to post-intervention. Our results suggest that briefly partaking in creative movement or art can psychologically help college students in the short-term.