Exploring Psychosocial Benefits of a Mindfulness-based Intervention among Chinese Migrant Children: Using Draw-and-Explain Technique

• In Event: The Importance of the Emotional Context: Applications of mindfulness based interventions and concepts in four different settings

Abstract

Research has shown that compared with local counterparts, Chinese migrant children reported a higher level of psychosocial problems due to migration-related stressors (Zhang & Luo, 2015). Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have increasingly demonstrated benefits to children’s psychosocial wellbeing (e.g., Lu et al., 2018). Research contributing to understanding participants’ unique experiences related to MBIs can deepen our understanding of the processes of change.
The draw-and-explain technique can represent a developmentally appropriate method to understand children’s inner world (Tharinger & Roberts, 2014). Empirical literature has established consistent correlations between features of children’s self-drawings and different facets of mental health (Farokhi & Hashemi, 2011). It is also crucial to incorporate children’s interpretations of their work as part of the meaning-making process (Angell et al., 2015). The present study explores children’s perspectives of the benefits of a MBI by observing changes in participants’ self-drawings and accompanying narratives.
Methods:
Twenty-nine children (aged 9-12) who participated in a 12-week MBI were invited to face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, during which the children were asked to “draw a picture of yourself” before and after participating in the intervention. Once the children finished drawing, they were invited to describe their pictures.
A priori coding scheme was adapted from a previous study (Glewwe et al., 2018). Sixteen indicators were grouped into three categories as positive or negative outcomes: emotional wellbeing (e.g., crying), interpersonal relationships (e.g., monster), and self-concept (e.g., tiny head). Each drawing indicator was coded as a categorical variable: 1 = the positive indicator is present, -1 = the negative indicator is present, 0 = the indicator is absent. Two researchers independently coded all drawings. The inter-rater agreement was found satisfactory. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was conducted to compare the differences of drawing indicators in the before- and after-intervention drawings.
In addition, audio recordings of children’s interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. The coding process followed the guidelines proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). AU1 started with line-by-line analyses through open coding. Recurring themes emerged from transcripts and were grouped into broader categories. AU3 cross-checked all the codes, themes, and categories.
Results:
As shown in Table 1, Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated significant improvements in children’s emotional wellbeing (z = 2.96, p = .003) and interpersonal relationship (z = 4.396, p < .001) after the intervention. However, there is no significant differences on self-concept (z = 0.92, p = .358).
As for qualitative results, seven main themes emerged and were grouped into two categories: (a) improved emotional wellbeing, which included body-emotion awareness, emotion stability, distress tolerance, and maintaining goal-directed behaviors; (b) increased social wellbeing, which included control impulsive behaviors, access to more prosocial strategies, and less hostility. We further identified four potential mechanisms that underline the effects of MBI in improving children’s flexibility in applying the above-mentioned social and emotional skills: embodiment, acceptance, reappraisal, and empathy. Figure 1 presents a model that reflects the general direction of the possible change processes.
Conclusions:
The findings illustrate drawing analyses can be a viable approach to integrate children's voices in interpreting mechanisms of change.

Authors

• Xiaolu Dai, University of Hong Kong (HKU)
  Presenting Author

• Ana karen Gonzalez Barajas

• Renhui Lyu, University of Hong Kong

• Shuang Lu, University of Central Florida