The Impact of Arts on Emotional Empathy Among Adolescents From Intercultural Families

In this study, the effects of a group art intervention on emotional empathy levels among adolescents from intercultural families were evaluated by means of the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (QMEE) that was used as a pre-/post-test measure with a control group. The art therapy intervention consisted of eight two-hour weekly meetings. Results of the repeated analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant improvement in empathy among the youth participating in the therapy, when compared with the control group. Irrespective of gender, the experimental group scored statistically higher in the post-test (p = 0.000032), especially among girls (p = 0.0001). The findings suggest that the group art therapy was effective in improving emotional empathy levels among adolescents from intercultural families.