A qualitative pilot study on how young adolescents perceive an arts-based existential intervention for grappling with...

This pilot study sought to explore the perceived value of Arts-Based Existential Interventions to support young adolescents regarding death. We were guided by the following research question: What are the perceptions that young adolescents have toward an arts-based existential intervention to navigate questions, feelings, and concerns pertaining to death?

In conducting this study, we hoped to contribute to the existing clinical child psychology literature by qualitatively investigating how developmentally adapted, creative, and dialogical workshops benefitted--or not--a group of young adolescents (i.e., 10-12 year olds) exploring existential concerns related to death. Our findings indicated that although some participants expressed initial apprehension towards the workshops, most participants reported feeling positively impacted by receiving the opportunity to constructively explore, reflect on, and openly discuss the topic of death. With participants disclosing that they appreciated this opportunity, arts-based existential interventions could provide a meaningfully constructive method for supporting young adolescents in navigating the subject of death.

INTRODUCTION : Introduction: Discussing the topic of death is not easy for most, especially young adolescents. While adults may fear that talking about death with them leads to distress, research suggests they are naturally curious to explore it more [61]. Furthermore, adults report feeling uncomfortable and unqualified to lead these discussions (McGovern & Barry, 2000), thus leaving young adolescents without supportive spaces to openly explore this topic. One method that could potentially support them is through Arts-Based Existential Interventions.

This qualitative pilot study sought to explore the perceived value of Arts-Based Existential Interventions to support young adolescents regarding death.

A 10-week workshop was conducted with two sixth-grade classrooms (n = 21; Mage 11.5) using an interpretative qualitative design. Two of these ten workshops-focused on personal mortality and bereavement, respectively-formed the core of this study. Each workshop included an artistic creation activity, followed by philosophical inquiry. Data was collected through observation grids, as well as audio recordings of focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Themes were constructed through reflexive thematic analysis, as outlined by [10, 13]. No clinical changes were measured, and the findings reflect post-intervention perceptions from participants rather than being an assessment of psychological outcomes.

Despite expressing some initial negative emotional reactions, participants reported valuing the workshops as a tool for fostering emotional expression, conveying empathy, and positively refining their perspectives on death. Participants of this study reported finding the intervention to be helpful for exploring and expressing their thoughts and emotions about death.

Although this study is exploratory and its findings should be interpreted with caution, arts-based existential interventions show potential for helping young adolescents foster emotional resilience toward mortality. Building on these findings, future research should expand on this pilot study by exploring additional existential themes, such as suffering, empathy, meaning in life, and freedom.