The effectiveness of painting therapy program for the treatment of externalizing behaviors in children with intellectual disability

Abstract

Externalizing behaviors are prevalent among children with intellectual disability (ID). This study was conducted to identify the effectiveness of painting therapy program in alleviating the externalizing behaviors of male children with ID. In a randomized clinical trial, 60 children with ID were separated into intervention group and control group. The intervention group received the painting therapy program (12 weeks; two sessions per week), while the control group did not receive any program. The questionnaires were completed by their parents in order to evaluate the externalizing behaviors of children at the beginning and at the end of the painting therapy program. A two-way repeated-measure Analysis of Variance showed that the mean levels of externalizing behaviors in the intervention group decreased after the painting therapy program. In addition, the analysis showed that the mean levels of externalizing behaviors between the intervention group and the control group were significantly different. The findings revealed that painting therapy program could alleviate the externalizing behaviors of children with ID.