A Study on the Effect of Using Art Therapy Programs to Promote Couples' Relationship and Communication, on Couples' Conflict and Happiness

Objectives Purpose This study attempted to investigate the effect of art therapy programs to promote marital relationships and communication, marital conflict resolution, and happiness. The purpose of the art therapy program was to naturally express one's inner feelings, understand and accept oneself and others, and to verify the effect on enhancing marital relations and communication by making positive changes. Methods Data were collected from January 1 to June 30, 2021 for the couple of members of the Cultural Center in N city. After confirming the research purpose and program composition, 16 couples who expressed their willingness to participate voluntarily were selected, and 8 pairs were wirelessly composed of experimental groups and 8 pairs were composed of control groups. For this study, a couple interaction scale, a couple communication scale, a couple conflict scale, and a happiness scale were used, and a dynamic house-tree-person picture test was conducted. The independent sample t-test and the corresponding sample t-test were statistically analyzed using SPSSWIN 25.0, and 22-verification and covariance verification (ANCOVA) were performed. In addition, the qualitative research method was introduced, and the interviews with participants and activity memo information were used to analyze them with Colaizzi's phenomenological research method. Results As a result of the study, it was verified that the couple art therapy program was effective in enhancing marital relations and communication. In the process of couples exploring themselves, expressing their thoughts, and expressing their suppressed feelings through art activities, their understanding of themselves and their spouses increased, and sincere communication served as an opportunity to resolve conflicts between couples and realize their willingness to change for each other. As a result, it was found that the improvement of the relationship and satisfaction between couples can be the basis for determining the happiness of couples. Conclusions This study is a study that introduced qualitative research after focusing on quantitative research. For this study, the reconstructed art therapy program was operated, and the marital interaction scale, marital communication scale, marital conflict scale, and happiness scale were conducted before and after the marital art therapy program. As a result, it was found to be significant in the effectiveness test of the couple art therapy program, and it was statistically significant in marital interaction, marital communication, marital conflict, and marital happiness scale. In this regard, it was also found to be high satisfaction in program satisfaction. These significant results showed that even in the analysis of the introduced qualitative research, sincere communication between couples was the willingness to increase understanding between couples, resolve conflicts, and change between couples.