This study focuses on investigating the effect of group art therapy using Korean painting media on the
stress level of elementary school students and their behaviors to cope with stresses. Objects of this study
are composed of 24 elementary school students participating this program voluntarily, and they are divided
in two of 12 students in the experimental group and 12 in the control group. This program was performed
for a total of 15 trials of 60 minutes once a week. The pre-tests and post-tests of stress scale, the measure
of the stress-coping skills, and Draw-a-Person-in-the-Rain(PITR) were used for assessment. The data were
quantitatively processed by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with the SPSS 12.0 program. As the results,
firstly, the experimental group displayed less stress than did the control group. Secondly, the experimental
group showed greater improvement in stress-coping behaviors than did the control group. Thirdly, the
experimental group made a greater reduction in stress and the improvements in coping resources and
stress-coping behaviors in rating the PITR than did the control group. Finally, each process of therapy
session made it possible to reduce stresses overall and also to improve the coping resources and the coping
behaviors.
Thus, it is concluded that the group art therapy using Korean painting media produced positive effects
on the decrease of stress and the improvement of the stress-coping behaviors for these elementary school
student participants.