The Role of Artistic Activities in Illness Acceptance and Personal Identity Reconstruction Among Clients of Counseling and Treatment Centers: A Causal-Comparative Study

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Artistic activities may facilitate emotional expression, self-understanding, meaning-making, and the symbolic representation of personal experiences, thereby contributing to how individuals perceive illness and understand their personal identity. This study aimed to compare illness perception and personal identity status between clients who participated in artistic activities and those with no documented history of such participation.

Methodology: This applied quantitative study employed an ex post facto causal-comparative design. The statistical population comprised clients attending psychological counseling and treatment centers, from whom 60 participants were selected through convenience sampling and assigned to two groups of 30: individuals engaged in artistic activities and individuals without artistic activity experience. Artistic activities included painting, drawing, music, theater, sculpture, carpet weaving, and related creative practices. Data were collected using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire developed by Broadbent et al. and Bardbar’s Personal Identity Questionnaire. The data were analyzed in SPSS using independent-samples t-tests and one-way analysis of variance, with the significance level set at 0.05.

Findings: The independent-samples t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between participants with and without artistic activity experience in illness perception (p=0.006). A significant between-group difference was also found in personal identity status (p=0.010). Furthermore, illness perception and personal identity scores differed significantly according to age, gender, educational attainment, marital status, and employment status (p<0.05). However, because subgroup means and post hoc comparisons were not reported, the direction and precise location of the demographic differences could not be determined.

Conclusion: Participation in artistic activities was associated with significant differences in illness perception and personal identity status among clients of counseling and treatment centers. Artistic activities may therefore be considered a complementary resource alongside psychological counseling and clinical services. Nevertheless, given the retrospective causal-comparative design, the findings indicate associations and group differences and should not be interpreted as evidence of causality or as proof of the effectiveness of a formal art-therapy intervention.