Promoting Positive Youth Development Through an After-School Organized Art Activity Designed for Adolescents with Internalizing Problems

Mental health is a priority for high schools, but extant programs often focus on symptom reduction rather than promoting adolescents’ developmental assets.

The goal of this study is to examine whether Art in Mind (AIM), a strengths-based after-school organized art activity tailored to fit the needs of adolescents with internalizing problems, can promote young people’s psychosocial adjustment and support their positive development.

Using a quasi-experimental pre-program, post-program, and 5-month follow-up design, 50 students (mean age = 15.60; 68% female) from four Canadian high schools were assigned to AIM (n = 23) or to a waitlist condition (n = 27).

Results from 2 × 2 mixed ANCOVAs revealed significant time by condition interactions reflecting greater improvement in the AIM group with regards to depressive mood at post-program, and to general self-efficacy, social functioning, and positive self-esteem at follow-up. Planned comparisons revealed several significant improvements between pre- and post-program or post-program and follow-up in the AIM group (effect sizes ranging between d = 0.27 and 0.61), while none were observed in the waitlist group.

This study supports the potential of after-school organized activities as a strategy to effectively foster positive youth development in adolescents with internalizing symptoms. Further studies are needed to understand the essential implementation parameters and mechanisms of action in these programs.