| The hypothesis of the research study was that art therapy would help improve communication between cohabitating couples. This would be achieved using art as intervention to help couples gain insight and awareness of their communication styles as well as reduce communication apprehension. Nine couples, a total of 18 participants, volunteered to participate in the study. The participants identified themselves as being in a monogamous committed relationship and have been in a married and or cohabitating relationship for at least six months. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 64. The couples participated in a single art therapy session in which they engaged in three art interventions, which included the silent joint drawing, small problems collage and the blind drawings. Each session was approximately two hours longs. All participants were asked to complete an informed consent at the commence of the session. The couples completed a demographics questionnaire, a relationship history questionnaire, three communication measures, which included the PCI, DAS, and the CAQ that were administered three times. In addition, quantitative data was collected through short answer responses given at the end of each art intervention as well as the art itself. The data was analyzed to see if there were any improvements in the couple's communication. The results showed there was no statistical significance in change in communication, however when tested separately by gender, it was concluded that the male participants scores changed significantly for the PCI and the DAS after the art intervention. |
