Psychological wellbeing of Yezidi females following group art-based intervention: An interventional study

The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attacked Sinjar, a majority Yezidi region, on 3 August 2014. ISIS fighters systematically and deliberately targeted the Yezidi Kurdish population. Several of the region's women and girls were abducted, raped, sold and gifted to other ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria. Amnesty International claims that the women and girls who survived ISIS captivity, or who succeeded in escaping the attack, suffer from severe psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. This paper discusses the effectiveness of a two-month art-based intervention course on the general health status and psychological well- being of Yezidi females.

A total of 14 females, ranging in age from 10 to 27, who survived the ISIS captivity/invasion, were invited to participate in a two-month art-based intervention treatment course. Their general health status and socio-psychological well-being were assessed pre- and post-intervention through self-report assessments, the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and the Flourishing Scale (FS), respectively.

The study showed that overall general health status and socio-psychological well- being improved, substantially, from 18.21 to 3.57 for general health status (P < 0.0001) and from 41.36-51.21 for socio-psychological well-being (P < 0.0001). However, the participants were still unable to completely overcome their life difficulties (P = 0.302).

Art-based intervention sessions can be effective for improving the psychological well-being of women who develop severe psychiatric disorders following the survival of war- related conflict.