“Prescribing the Peace”: Exploring Impacts of an Arts-Based Intervention in a Gun Violence Prevention Setting

• In Event: Community Violence

Abstract

Research suggests that individuals who have been exposed to violence may have reduced optimism about the future, develop a fatalistic mentality and engage in risky behaviors – with potential adverse impacts on well-being. A growing body of research identifies the impacts of arts-based interventions to help individuals cope with trauma, improve mental health, and overall well-being. This study explores an arts-based intervention in Memphis, Tennessee, that engages with young adults who are at the highest risk of engaging in gun violence. Along with life coaches and clinicians, program participants engage with a curriculum that integrates theatrical arts with elements of social emotional learning, transformative communication, and cultural humility. Using a mixed-method design including participant surveys, interviews, and participant observation, the project asks how an arts-based intervention may improve well-being among individuals at risk of engaging in gun violence and staff working to prevent community violence in a nonprofit setting. The study also asks how participation in arts-based interventions may impact individual-level mindset change and feelings of fatalism among program participants. Understanding how arts-based interventions impact participants in a gun violence prevention program may improve future program design and implementation.

Author

• Emily Hope Thomson, University of Memphis