Using Arts in At-Risk and Juvenile Teenagers

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Arts Therapies and Arts-Based Programs
Theoretical Support
Evidence of the Final Result
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Art is an articulation or implementation of human innovative skills and imagination, generally in a visual configuration such as painting or model producing works to be treasured particularly for their enchantress or emotional power. Arts can have an efficient impact on child development from birth till puberty. For instance, the children participate in numerous art activities such as dancing, making crafts, singing, and performing plays. These activities link a child to beneficial emotional and social behaviors such as sharing, mood control, and empathy. Similarly, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) sponsored a series of data analyses. The assessments explored the impact of arts engagements, such as a student taking art classes and how this did correspond to their school work (Bodenstein, 2020). The study discovered that those with high levels of arts engagement had better outcomes on indicators such as test scores and school grades.

Moreover, art can provide an outlet for justice and at-risk kids to address emotions or issues by enhancing them to develop new abilities. The children can also gain new skills and express their ideas and thoughts in therapeutic and creative means. Similarly, arts can enable youth struggling with victimization or trauma to subsist with distressing situations by enhancing flexibility. Autonomy, social competency, problem determining skills, and a sense of determination can all be alleviated by composing art. Furthermore, the above skills stimulates strength and virtuous feelings in young individuals, which allows them to view themselves as remnants rather than casualties. This review is a proposal on the use of arts on two groups’ teenagers at risk and youths currently in juvenile. It focuses on arts-based programs, art therapies, and theoretical support and signifies why such a program should be endorsed.

Arts Therapies and Arts-Based Programs

Art-based programs, educational art programs, and art therapy focusing on healing processes are two types of programs for at-risk and justice-involved kids. The two programs are based on arts as art engagement can be therapeutic in and out itself, which is vital to enhance arts-based initiates for at-risk populations. Young people can benefit from the arts-based program that is either therapeutic or preventative. Behavioral health disorders such as rage, anxiety, depression, delinquency, and suicidal ideas are frequently the focus of the programs (Fernández-Aguayo & Pino-Juste, 2018). Some of the goals that these programs aim to improve are self-regulation, family functioning, and resilience.

Arts-based programs can be used at different stages of the juvenile justice system. For instance, the program could be analyzed from a perspective of prevention where it focuses on children who have not yet come into contact with juveniles but have exhibited behaviors that could lead to them being in the referral or arrested. On the other hand, the program may aim at children who have committed first-time or minor offences. Juveniles who are engaged in a series of crimes; the program may be situated in residential or detention facilities. Theatrical and visual, dance, drama, crafts, and music are art interventions that could be used. Drawing, painting, singing, and performing are possible program activities. Moreover, writing could also be effective as the kids can write about their stressful experiences to control their responses and process their emotions.

Art therapy is a medium that uses art to develop a therapeutic relationship been a client and therapist. Arts aim to empower the clients to take a therapeutic approach to their psychological, emotional concerns. Art treatment enables individuals to be aware of themselves and others coping with stress and improve their cognitive capacities. Moreover, they provide a platform for the youth to express their fears, vulnerabilities, and unpleasant feelings, allowing them to cope with negative experiences rather than acting out in negative ways. For instance, theatre therapy, visual art therapy, and music therapy are arts treatments offered by skilled professionals. Visual arts include producing and exploring images, resulting in young people expressing their feelings that they cannot verbalize. Youths can also create metaphors to express their feelings through art materials; this methodology help therapists to understand their client more. Several forms of art treatments can deal with adolescents and children.

Theoretical Support

Various psychological theories expound on how arts-based programs can influence individual behavior. Positive youth development and cognitive are two of these philosophies. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a problem-solving mechanism that aims to help individuals modify and recognize the ideas, behavior patterns, and dysfunctional beliefs contributing to their problems. The core principle of CBT is that to change behavior; one must first change their mindset (Kinder et al., 2019). Some arts-based programs combine CBT ideas by incorporating activities or exercises that focus on expression, problem-solving and other aspects of thinking. For instance, role-playing allows youth to practice behaviors and prosaically skills that they could have acquired through a program.

The positive youth development (PYD) framework is a theoretical concept that deals with various arts-based initiatives.PYD focuses on youth’s assets and healthy developments rather than deficits models that view young adults as broken people who need to be fixed. Programs based on PYD take a strength-based approach by providing youth with opportunities for skills enhancement, facilitating the development of positive relationships and prosaically involvement.PYD principles can be incorporated into arts-based programs by educating youth about arts, nurturing their creativity and skills, and providing a safe environment for youth to participate in art activities. The arts can assist children in acquiring various skills that can encourage the development of their social, cognitive, and personal abilities at each stage of development. Through the use of creative medium, children can express themselves in ways that they could not do before.

Evidence of the Final Result

More study is required to understand the consequences of arts interventions for at-risk and justice-involved kids, despite the academic literature that outlines good associations between skills and social-emotional abilities among teenagers and kids. Methodological flaws in the research available contain reliance on self-reporting, lack of comparison groups, and short follow-up periods. Moreover, there is a lack of data on the impact of arts-specific components in programs or therapies that incorporate the skills with other elements. As a result, the effect of the art program is unclear compared to other factors. Thus, more is required to determine the relative impacts of interventions that use diverse art forms, even in independent arts therapies or programs. Although the amount and quality of research are limited, the model programs guide includes arts-based programs and treatments that positively affect youths.

Reading for Life (RFL) is a literature-based art program. RFL is an Indian diversion program that deals with non-violent offences committed by juveniles between eleven and eighteen. In this initiative, young individuals participate in small groups guided by volunteers’ mentors to study works of literature. The aim is to prevent recidivism among minors who have committed crimes and promote moral growth. The technique is founded on the premise that literature can help moral development by allowing young individuals to live vicariously via tales and situations depicted in books and apply the lessons learned to their lives (Taylor & Shaw, 2017). The RFL participants outlined much lower recidivism rates as compared to other groups. Moreover, RFL participants had a reduced chance for prosecution for any offences and fewer arrests at two years follow-ups.

Program venture is an outdoor experimental program for young American Indians at risk. American Indian traditional curriculum focuses on spiritual awareness, respect, family, and learning from the natural world to encourage prosaically and healthy growth (Wang, 2018). The project venture aims to assist young individuals in developing practical social and communication skills, good self-image, decision-making, problem-solving abilities, self-efficacy, and community service ethic. The initiative is aimed at communities of American Indians who are looking for ways to reduce alcohol. The project venture does not offer a traditional alcohol education program. Instead, the program promotes outcomes by incorporating cultural values into thinking exercises and art-based activities such as singing, storytelling, and speaking. When follow-up activities were carried out on individuals who participated in the program, they demonstrated reduced drugs consumptions. Hence the program can have a considerable impact on the individuals.

Conclusion

Arts-based therapies and programs offer a unique approach to assist young individuals during periods of development and transition. It can be challenging for at-risk and justice-involved kids to express their experiences and feelings verbally; this barrier is minimized by using arts, a valuable tool in therapies and rehabilitates programs. Young adults can use crafts to cope with emotional and behavioral issues, express their feelings, increase assets and strength in non-threatening measures and develop skills and creative abilities. Two mechanisms to incorporate the arts into treatment for at-risk and justice-involved youths are arts-based programs, including arts education and arts therapies. However, the two mechanisms are comparable in terms of implemented programming elements; each strategy for dealing with juveniles and treating the issue is distinct.

The arts-based program emphasizes creating arts to address the teenagers’ problems, while arts treatment accentuates therapeutic contact between the young adult and therapists. According to several theoretical frameworks, arts programs and treatment serve as significant interventions for at-risk and justice-involved youths. Arts-based programs and therapies can offer a stronger feeling of stability to a society whose members feel out of control. Teenagers can develop trustworthy relationships with teachers who can encourage them to participate in group or solo activities while thinking of their problems. Youths have the opportunity to innovate a final product through arts programs and therapy, gaining a sense of victory and, in the process, creating a piece of art that visualizes the problematic struggles they had to put up with during their rehabilitation and healing processes.

Despite evidence of such significance, additional research is needed to disaggregate and link the arts components of specific treatments to favorable outcomes. Future research should focus on how and under what circumstances the arts can directly impact the behavior of at-risk and justice-involved youth.

References

Bodenstein, F. (2020). Across the past and present of engaging with colonial contexts in the Arts and Cultural Institutions. Critique D’Art, (55), 159-169. Web.

Fernández-Aguayo, S., & Pino-Juste, M. (2018). Drama therapy and theatre as an intervention tool: Bibliometric analysis of programs based on drama therapy and theatre.The Arts in Psychotherapy, 59, 83-93. Web.

Kinder, C., Gaudreault, K., Jenkins, J., Wade, C., & Woods, A. (2019). At-risk youth in an after-school program: Structured vs. unstructured physical activity. The Physical Educator, 76(5), 1157-1180. Web.

Taylor, L., & Shaw, J. (2017). Interspecies encounter: Documenting the benefits of incorporating fine arts into the Equine studies curriculum.Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 52, 120. Web.

Wang, M. (2018). Village transformed: Jin Le and community development through contemporary art.Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, 5(2), 193-213. Web.

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