Effectiveness of Painting Therapy Based on Marian Liebmann’s Protocol on Emotion Regulation in 9- to 11-Year-Old Girls from Single-Parent Families

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of painting therapy based on Marian Liebmann’s art therapy protocol in improving emotion regulation among 9- to 11-year-old girls from single-parent families in District 8 of Tehran. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a control group was employed. The statistical population comprised all 9- to 11-year-old girls from single-parent families residing in District 8 of Tehran. After one school was randomly selected, 44 eligible students were recruited through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group, with 22 participants in each group. The experimental group received ten 90-minute painting therapy sessions based on Marian Liebmann’s protocol, whereas the control group remained on a waiting list. Data were collected using the Shields and Cicchetti Emotion Regulation Checklist. Following confirmation of normality, homogeneity of variances, and homogeneity of regression slopes, the data were analyzed using analysis of covariance. Analysis of covariance indicated that painting therapy had significant effects on all components of emotion regulation (p<0.001). The partial eta-squared values were 0.830 for emotional self-awareness and expression, 0.679 for emotional lability, 0.645 for emotional flexibility, 0.536 for the control and management of negative emotions, and 0.473 for the situational inappropriateness of emotional expressions. The largest intervention effect was observed for emotional self-awareness and expression. The F values for the emotion-regulation components ranged from 37.675 to 204.840, demonstrating statistically significant adjusted posttest differences between the experimental and control groups across all components. Painting therapy based on Marian Liebmann’s protocol appears to be an effective, non-invasive, and developmentally appropriate intervention for improving emotional awareness, expression, control, management, and flexibility among girls from single-parent families. Implementing this intervention in schools and child counseling centers may contribute to the prevention and reduction of emotional difficulties in this vulnerable population.