Artistic Tasks Outperform Nonartistic Tasks for Stress Reduction

Art making has been documented as an effective stress reduction technique. In this between-subjects experimental study, possible mechanisms of stress reduction were examined in a sample of 52 university students randomly assigned to one of four conditions generated by factorially crossing Activity Type (artistic or nonartistic) with Coping Approach (active or passive). Stress levels were measured at baseline, after stress induction tasks, and after the stress reduction manipulation. Results indicated that all experimental stress reduction tasks reduced average stress levels. However, artistic activities yielded significantly greater stress reduction than matched nonartistic activities, supporting the potential therapeutic effectiveness of specifically artistic tasks for stress reduction.